Low Testosterone Levels in Women | Low Testosterone
Low testosterone increases risk of heart disease in women, study finds
Post-menopausal women with low levels of the male sex hormone testosterone are more likely to develop heart disease than women with high testosterone levels, Belgian research suggests. This may be surprising to you to learn that women even have, much less require testosterone. So now you ask what is the truth about the male hormone?
It has been over one hundred years since the word hormone was first used in medical documents. Testosterone is the hormone which turns your sweet, high voiced little boy into a teenager obsessed with sex and taking excessive risks. All one has to do is watch extreme sports to see that the overwhelming number of participants are "extremely" male. Testosterone plays many roles in the human body and it’s not only men who produce it. Women need and make testosterone, too.
Researchers looked at 112 women - half of whom had a condition of the arteries called atherosclerosis, which is seen as a precursor to major heart problems. Those with atherosclerosis had much less testosterone than those without. It did however call for more research into the links between the hormone and heart disease, which is now the leading cause of death of women in the UK.
Heart and circulatory diseases claim 100,000 female lives every year.
Testosterone's Protective Properties
The risk of developing heart disease increases dramatically among women after they have been through the menopause. Although testosterone is associated with men, women also produce it - primarily from their ovaries and adrenal glands. The menopause, and changes in hormonal balances, affects the levels produced.
Testosterone is already known to perform essential functions in both men and women such as maintaining muscle strength, increasing libido and bone density. Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD), heart disease in layman's terms, is a leading cause of death and disease in the developed western world. This is a chronic progressive condition, and treatment is required indefinitely.
Heart Disease Equal for Males and Females Ten Years After Menopause
Men are more than twice as likely as women to develop heart disease. This ratio is consistent in all populations and is not related to differences in risk factors. Pre-menopausal females have a lower incidence of heart disease, but this rises after the menopause, so that the risk of CAD rapidly approaches that of males after about 10 years. One explanation for these epidemiological observations is that female hormones protect against the development of CAD. Observational studies of hormone replacement therapies in women have suggested some benefit, but large randomized controlled trials have failed to show protective effects. Read more on this testosterone research at "Testosterone for secondary prevention in men with ischemic heart disease"?
Little attention has been paid to the role of testosterone in the heart disease. Males do not have a menopause equivalent, but do experience low testosterone with advancing age. The more elderly population, in which the prevalence of CAD is highest, has relatively low testosterone levels.
Furthermore, males with heart disease have lower testosterone levels than men with normal coronary angiograms males of the same age. Moreover, there is evidence that testosterone therapy delays the onset of cardiac ischemia, improving the symptom of angina.
The Free University of Brussels research team went on to say that testosterone also appeared to carry out other tasks, such as suppressing chemical signals which caused inflammation in the arterial wall. Other testosterone research indicates that other types of inflammation are relieved as well. It is still not precisely known how the hormone works toward guarding against heart disease. That is why most doctors do not recognize testosterone's anti-ageing benefits. One day soon, all doctors will.
The British Heart Foundation said: "The results from this small study identify an association between low testosterone levels in post menopausal women and a build up of fatty material in the carotid artery - the artery that supplies blood to the head and neck. "However it is unclear as to why this occurs. Further work is required to enhance our understanding of the mechanism behind this."
The bottom line is, women need to be tested for testosterone levels, just like men. The will usually require supplementing to overcome the low testosterone found in women. Overall health, libido and that zest for life will usually return.