HGH for Heart Health: What to Know
The research and evidence supporting the benefits of HGH for heart health continue to grow, providing new options for patients with cardiovascular disease or risk factors.
In the early stages of HGH use for adults, human growth hormone was seen as an enhancement aid. Actors, actresses, and sports personalities paid thousands of dollars a month to maintain a youthful appearance and vigor. However, growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is now known to be a potentially dangerous medical condition as it can lead to an increased risk of osteoporosis, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It is the influence of HGH on the heart that we discuss in this review of the extensive research available today.
What is important to know about HGH and heart disease?
Growth hormone influences the heart in both direct and indirect ways. One of the primary roles of HGH is to stimulate the liver’s secretion of insulin growth factor 1 – the mediator of many of growth hormone’s functions. Together, HGH and IGF-1 promote cell regeneration throughout the body. New cells maintain the structural integrity of the internal organs, muscles, skin, bones, hair, and nails. Often overlooked in this conversation are the hundreds of billions of blood cells that the body produces each day.
One powerful aspect of HGH for heart health is its role in the proliferation and differentiation of hemopoietic stem cells. Erythropoietin is the stimulator of red blood cell production in bone marrow. Testosterone, which is in part stimulated by growth hormone, promotes erythropoietin production. In that way, HGH has an indirect influence on heart health by promoting improved circulation resulting from blood cell production. However, HGH and IGF-1also provide direct activities with primary hemopoietic cytokines and progenitors. Since HGH and IGF-1 also support bone cell production, they help maintain the bone marrow necessary for blood cell formation and development.
Blood cell production, which aids in circulation, is only one aspect of growth hormone’s role in heart health. In this report, we will look at the following topics:
- The many ways growth hormone affects the heart
- How low HGH levels lead to poor heart health
- Why growth hormone deficiency increases the risk of cardiovascular disease
- The symptoms of HGH deficiency that are contributors to heart disease
- How HGH therapy can decrease cardiovascular disease risk factors
- Benefits of HGH for the heart
Extensive research shows the benefits of HGH for heart health.
How Does Growth Hormone Affect the Heart?
Our first look at the influence of HGH on heart health focused on blood cell production, which could also lead to anemia. A person who suffers from anemia has an increased risk of heart disease due to the heart having to work harder to pump oxygen-rich blood through the body. As we look at HGH and heart problems, we find that anemia is present in approximately one-third of congestive heart failure cases.
Next, we look at the role of HGH for heart health in the vascular endothelium, the layer that forms the wall of capillaries by covering the internal surface of blood vessels. Cells in the endothelium release chemicals that control blood clotting, vascular contraction and relaxation, immune functions, and platelet adhesion. There are also HGH and IGF-1 receptors expressed in the vascular endothelium as well as the myocardium (the muscle tissue of the heart). IGF-1 increases the release of nitric oxide (NO) from endothelial cells.
NO is crucial for healthy heart functions. Nitric oxide helps expand the blood vessels to improve blood flow. Another benefit of NO is inhibiting the buildup of arterial blocking plaque. Nitric oxide also helps support blood vessel elasticity and blood pressure levels.
Functions of the vascular endothelium include:
- Decreasing:
- Vascular tone
- Activation of the coagulation system
- Capillary permeability
- Inhibiting:
- Platelet adhesion and aggregation
- Neutrophil adhesion and migration
- Inflammation-generating macrophages
- Stimulating fibrinolysis (the breakdown of fibrin in blood clots)
Endothelial dysfunction contributes to atherosclerosis development associated with elevated intima-media thickness and increased smooth muscle vascular tone and arterial rigidity. Inflammation plays a key role in cardiovascular disease (CD).
HGH directly and indirectly (through IGF-1) impacts the vascular endothelium as well as blood cell production.
Does Low HGH Lead to Poor Heart Health?
Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs when the arteries leading to the heart become hard and narrow, reducing blood flow to the heart. The buildup of cholesterol in the arteries (atherosclerosis) turns into a hard substance called plaque. One of the risks we see with low levels of HGH and heart health is that pieces of the built-up plaque can dislodge from the arterial wall. When that occurs, a blockage to the arteries leading to the heart can result in a heart attack. If the loose plaque blocks the arteries to the brain, a stroke could occur.
Higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreased levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are often associated with growth hormone deficiency. These are important markers associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, as well as morbidity and mortality. Although LDL cholesterol plays an essential role in androgen hormone production, too much left in the bloodstream can lead to plaque buildup in the arterial walls. It is the HDL cholesterol that comes along and sweeps it away to the liver for processing. That is why maintaining a healthy HDL to LDL ratio of cholesterol is crucial in the bloodstream.
HGH and IGF-1 both help in the process of triglyceride metabolism. Triglycerides are the most common type of fat, and they come from the food we eat. While cholesterol is a waxy substance that serves as the basis for steroid hormone production (think progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, and DHEA), triglycerides provide the body with energy. Growth hormone helps the body process triglycerides as energy rather than stored fat. That is why weight gain is common when HGH levels are low. Elevated triglyceride levels are linked to increasing the risk of heart disease.
That is in no way the only impact of low HGH for heart health. Exercise is a leading factor in heart health, as it helps increase circulation. However, exercise capacity and cardiac output are greatly reduced in people with cardiovascular disease. HGH deficiency often results in reduced energy and impaired exercise capability. Lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle are contributing factors to cardiovascular disease risk.
With decreased exercise also comes weight gain. Accumulated fat and obesity are direct influencers of growth hormone secretion, further worsening the problem. Increased fat, abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and insulin resistance are markers of metabolic syndrome – a condition that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as type 2 diabetes.
Low HGH levels increase the risk of factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease.
Why Does Growth Hormone Deficiency Increase Cardiovascular Disease Risk?
Atherosclerosis is a significant issue for people with low HGH, heart problems, and cardiovascular risks. Growth hormone deficient adults often suffer from increased carotid arterial wall thickness.
Adults with growth hormone deficiency typically exhibit the following heart concerns:
- Reduced:
- Left ventricular mass
- Cardiac output
- Exercise capacity
- Nitric oxide production
- Left ventricular ejection fraction
- Fibrinolysis
- Aortic distensibility
- Increased:
- Insulin resistance
- LDL cholesterol concentration
- Sympathetic nerve activity
- C-reactive protein levels (inflammation marker)
- Visceral adiposity (abdominal body fat)
- Left ventricular dilatation
- Left ventricular systolic wall stress
- Intima-media thickness
- Carotid artery stiffness
For patients with growth hormone deficiency and cardiovascular disease, there is an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The most frequent causes of vascular death include:
- Ischemic heart disease with congestive cardiac failure
- Myocardial infarction
- Cerebrovascular disease
Another concern with low HGH for heart health is type 2 diabetes. Adults with growth hormone deficiency also have an increased risk of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and type 2 diabetes risk. A person who has type 2 diabetes also has an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Inflammatory markers are present in the prediabetic state, along with elevated blood pressure levels. These early warning factors can help indicate potential problems necessitating medical intervention. One of the benefits of HGH for heart health is decreasing those risks.
Numerous factors associated with growth hormone deficiency contribute to increased cardiovascular disease risk.
What Symptoms of HGH Deficiency Are Factors for Heart Disease?
As we continue to review the influence of HGH for heart disease, we focus on the symptoms of growth hormone deficiency that can affect the heart, such as:
- High LDL and total cholesterol
- Elevated triglycerides
- Weight gain
- High blood pressure
- Reduced exercise capacity
- Lack of energy
- Anemia
- Increased inflammation
- Insulin resistance
- Elevated blood glucose levels
It is easy to recognize these factors of low HGH for heart health before conditions progress to a state of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes. Regular medical screenings can help identify these factors. Hormone blood testing as one ages can also help ensure the maintenance of hormonal balance to reduce these risk factors.
Some of the symptoms of HGH deficiency are factors for heart disease.
How Can HGH Therapy Decrease Heart Disease Risk Factors?
In one study of the use of HGH for heart health, six months of treatment with recombinant human growth hormone therapy improved endothelial dysfunction and decreased cardiovascular risk.
Is HGH safe for heart patients to use?
When growth hormone deficiency is also present, the answer is often yes, HGH is safe as well as beneficial. Administration of HGH therapy can help improve many of the symptoms associated with low HGH levels and heart disease.
HGH therapy can help lower peripheral resistance, resulting in lower diastolic blood pressure. Although HGH is not an anabolic or steroid hormone, it does have anabolic effects on cardiac structure. These effects help to improve diastolic and systolic functions.
Reducing inflammation is crucial to decreasing the risk of heart disease. HGH therapy has been shown to significantly improve inflammatory markers, and it is one of the first areas of the body to see improvement once treatment begins.
HGH therapy helps to decrease many of the risk factors of heart disease.
What Are the Benefits of HGH for Heart Health?
How is HGH good for heart health?
Human growth hormone provides the following benefits for heart health:
- Increasing:
- Left ventricular mass
- Left ventricular posterior wall thickness
- Stroke volume
- Interventricular septum thickness
- Exercise capacity
- Nitric oxide production
- Contractile reserve
- Fibrinolysis
- Sympathetic nerve activity
- Insulin sensitivity
- Decreasing:
- Left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions
- Left ventricular wall stress
- Inflammation markers
- Insulin resistance
- Intima-media thickness
- Body fat
- LDL and total cholesterol and triglyceride levels
Perhaps most important of all – quality of life significantly improves for people with cardiovascular disease and growth hormone deficiency who receive HGH therapy. For more information, please contact RX Hormone medical clinic for a free consultation.