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01/07/09
There are many steroid medications that are introduced to the body through the injection format. These preparations direct the steroid content into the blood stream but before the medication can reach the mainstream blood flow they have to overcome the filtration at the liver which is composed of a host of various metabolic processes that have earned the procedure the name ‘first-pass effect’. Oral medications on the other hand have to withstand acidic conditions that characterize this part of the body. Do not forget that there are lots of bacteria to contend with here. In many ways; the introduction of steroids into the body bears consequences on the blood circulation system.
In the process of getting through the liver the steroids have to encounter the activity of the livers’ enzymes which takes the format of metabolic reactions that will result in one alteration or another. This is of course in regard to the safety measures that this crucial organ has to provide. In the case that the user is on intravenous steroids, this particular procedure of ‘first-pass effect’ is not effected and the steroids find their way into the bloodstream at an increased pace. This is usually a matter of seconds.
Anabolic steroids do affect the heart in several ways especially when the medication has been taken in the form of an injection. You see, sadly there is no proper alternative, both oral and injection based steroids are the cause of so much tumult to the liver and the heart respectively. The blood that is transporting the same steroids through the heart contains two types of cholesterol i.e. the LDL and the HDL. These words stand for low density lipoproteins and high density lipoproteins respectively.
In definition, it has been established that the latter are the proper type of cholesterols while the former are linked with poor health conditions in the heart. The LDLs are linked with the occurrence of clogged arteries of the heart. Too much clogging with these substances has been the cause of many a heart attack. Why are we discussing the matter? This is simply because the use of steroids has been linked with the increase of LDL in the blood, and at the same time the reduced quantity of HDL in the blood.
There are some athletes who have come out in the defense of injection steroids saying that they spare the liver of severe toxicity. While this may be true to some extent they should not overlook the fact that cases of excretion of injection steroids through the liver have been reported and in these cases the liver showed damaged akin to that which would have resulted from oral steroids.
There are plenty of perils that come with injection based steroids too and these have to do with infections that are opportunistic in nature. These infections fester the area that has been used repeatedly for injection. It is easier to get sick if a single point of your body is consistently available for the entry of pathogens.
