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Steroids - How bad are they?
In 2005, more than 500 professional football players who reported to training camp weighed in at over 300 pounds. Twenty-three year old San Francisco 49er guard Thomas Herrion, 6 foot 3 inches, 315 pounds, collapsed and died after an exhibition game in August 2005. His autopsy revealed an enlarged heart, a blocked artery and a scar indicating he probably had a previous heart attack.
How does a 23 year old athlete die of heart disease?
Athletes, particularly professionals, want to get stronger and enhance their recovery rate to improve their skill. So in addition to increasing their caloric intake (often in the forms of saturated fats and sugar) many have been secretly taking (as the headlines now report) androgenic steroids.
Visible and Invisible Side Effects
While their ability to improve athletic performance is seductive, these steroids can and often do have serious side effects. In men these side effects include lowering the level of high lipoprotein ("good cholesterol") while raising the level of bad lipids such as triglycerides and low density lipoprotein. This condition increases the risk of heart attack, liver and prostate cancer, acne, tremor, infertility, and baldness. In women, side effects include facial hair, male pattern baldness, menstrual alterations, clitoral enlargement, and a deepened voice.
300% Increased Risk of Heart Attack
Because of a marked weight gain, many athletes using steroids develop metabolic syndrome - high blood pressure, high triglycerides, diabetes, low HDL cholesterol and increased adnominal fat which produces toxic substances that flow to the arteries. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart attack by 300%.
Win Now, Lose Later
Clearly, the short term benefits of these illegal drugs must be weighed against their serious potential for doing long term harm.