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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Prognostic Indicators in Heart Failure - The Role of Phase Angle and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
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Anti-androgenic therapy with finasteride in patients with chronic heart failure - a retrospective propensity score

Badder Kattih1,2, Lukas Simon Elling3, Christel Weiss4

  • 1Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg Street 1, 30625, Hannover, Germany. Badder.Kattih@kgu.de.

Scientific Reports
|July 14, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Finasteride, an anti-androgen drug, may reduce cardiac hypertrophy in heart failure patients. This study suggests finasteride therapy is associated with attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, warranting further investigation in larger heart failure cohorts.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Sex hormones, particularly testosterone and its metabolite dihydrotestosterone, significantly impact heart disease prevalence and outcomes.
  • Dihydrotestosterone drives cardiac growth and dysfunction, while anti-androgenic drugs like finasteride counteract these effects in preclinical models.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if finasteride, commonly used for prostate conditions, can ameliorate cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in patients.
  • To evaluate the association between finasteride use and cardiac hypertrophy in heart failure patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective observational study involving a chart review of 1041 heart failure patients (1995-2015).
  • Stratification based on prostate treatment (tamsulosin vs. finasteride).
  • Propensity score analysis to match patients, resulting in 328 cases without baseline characteristic differences.

Main Results:

  • Finasteride therapy was associated with significantly reduced left ventricular hypertrophy in propensity score-matched patients.
  • Interventricular septal thickness was lower in the finasteride group (12.6 ± 2.1 mm) compared to the control group (13.3 ± 2.4 mm, p=0.029).
  • Estimated average treatment effect on the treated was -0.7 mm (95% CI: -1.3 to -0.1).

Conclusions:

  • Anti-androgenic therapy with finasteride for prostate disease is associated with attenuated cardiac hypertrophy in heart failure patients.
  • These findings suggest finasteride as a potential therapeutic approach for cardiac hypertrophy in heart failure.
  • Further analysis in larger heart failure patient cohorts is encouraged.

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