Emerging Evidences in the Long Standing Controversy Regarding Testosterone Replacement Therapy and Cardiovascular Events

Abstract

The increasing rate of late-onset hypogonadism has led to an exceptional growth in the use of testosterone therapy (TTh). Even though TTh has been used for more than 70 years, there has been an emerging controversy in the past several years re-garding its safety due to a suggested increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease among its users. Given the growing preva-lence of testosterone deficiency in our population and the increased use of TTh, the goal of this review is to present the histo-ry and emerging evidence in regards to this controversy. CV safety concerns are mostly based on a few studies and trials that have been noted to have multiple flaws and limitations. However, the most recent data has found no association between TTh and the development of CV disease. Nevertheless, until this controversy is clarified with larger clinical trials, health-care professionals should continue to inform their patients about the possible CV risk when prescribing TTh products to patients.

Keywords

• Cardiovascular diseases
• Hypogonadism
• Testosterone