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Published on: September 26, 2018

Plasma total testosterone and incident cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients

Charalambos Vlachopoulos1, Nikolaos Ioakeimidis, Dimitrios Terentes-Printzios

  • 1Peripheral Vessels Unit, First Department of Cardiology, Hippokration Hospital, Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. cvlachop@otenet.gr

American Journal of Hypertension
|February 6, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Low testosterone levels in hypertensive men significantly increase the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Measuring total testosterone (TT) can improve cardiovascular disease risk prediction in these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Endocrinology
  • Cardiology
  • Men's Health

Background:

  • Androgen deficiency is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality.
  • Hypertension is linked to a higher prevalence of low testosterone.
  • This study investigates low androgen levels as a predictor of cardiovascular events in hypertensive men.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if low androgen concentration predicts incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
  • To assess the predictive value of total testosterone (TT) for MACE in nondiabetic hypertensive patients.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of MACE in relation to TT using proportional hazards models.
  • Study included 228 middle-aged, nondiabetic hypertensive male patients.
  • Mean follow-up duration was 44 months.

Main Results:

  • 19 participants (8.3%) experienced a MACE.
  • Patients with MACE had lower TT (3.9±0.7ng/ml) vs. those without (4.6±1.5ng/ml).
  • Lowest TT tertile (<4.0ng/ml) showed a significantly higher risk of MACE.
  • A TT level of 5.04ng/ml had a 97.2% negative predictive value for MACE.

Conclusions:

  • Low plasma testosterone is associated with an increased risk of MACE in hypertensive patients.
  • Low endogenous androgen concentration improves cardiovascular disease risk prediction.
  • Testosterone may serve as a valuable biomarker for predicting cardiovascular risk.
Abstract

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