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David Oxborough, Professor of Echocardiography and Cardiovascular Physiology, Liverpool John Moores University

From bodybuilding to the local gym: how performance-enhancing drugs can damage the heart

Steroids
Gym-goers who use IPEDs may not be aware of their heart harms. Andrii Iemelianenko/ Shutterstock

Image and performance-enhancing drugs (IPEDs), such as steroids and human growth hormone, can harm the heart – and it isn’t just elite bodybuilders who are at risk.

With a growing number of everyday gym-goers taking these drugs to improve their fitness or enhance their appearance, what was once a niche issue in competitive sports is quickly becoming a wider public health concern.

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