JCDD, Vol. 10, Pages 113: Impaired Cardiovascular Parameters in Resistance Training Practitioners Who Take Ergogenic Aids

JCDD, Vol. 10, Pages 113: Impaired Cardiovascular Parameters in Resistance Training Practitioners Who Take Ergogenic Aids

Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease doi: 10.3390/jcdd10030113

Authors: Bruno Bavaresco Gambassi Daniela Conceição Gomes Gonçalves e Silva Camila Almeida Sá Roberto Rodrigues Bezerra Cleilson Barbosa de Freitas Marcelo Silva Costa Paulo Roberto da Silva Marques Pedro Paulo Ramos da Silva Manoel Pereira Guimarães Fabiano de Jesus Furtado Almeida Richard Diego Leite Dário Celestino Sobral Filho Paulo Adriano Schwingel

Background: Although there are studies on blood pressure (BP) and autonomic cardiac control (ACC) impairments caused by ergogenic aids, research has scarcely addressed this analysis during sleep. This study analyzed BP and ACC during sleep and wake periods in three groups of resistance training (RT) practitioners: ergogenic aid non-users, thermogenic supplement (TS) self-users, and anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) self-users. Methods: RT practitioners were selected for the Control Group (CG; n = 15), TS self-users Group (TSG; n = 15), and AAS self-users Group (AASG; n = 15). All individuals underwent cardiovascular Holter monitoring (BP, ACC) during sleep and wake periods. Results: The maximum systolic BP (SBP) during sleep was higher in AASG (p < 0.01) than CG (p < 0.001). CG had lower mean diastolic BP (DBP) than TSG (p < 0.01) and lower mean SBP (p = 0.009) than the other groups. Additionally, CG had higher values (p < 0.01) than TSG and AASG for SDNN and pNN50 during sleep. HF, LF, and LF/HF ratio values during sleep were statistically different in CG (p < 0.001) from the other groups. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that high doses of TS and AAS can impair cardiovascular parameters during sleep in RT practitioners who take ergogenic aids.