Anabolic steroids cause enlargement of the heart in humans and
test animals.(1,2) These are the same changes in heart
muscle that occur in chronic heart failure.(3) For these
reasons, when a young athlete experiences sudden death the body is
often evaluated for steroid abuse.(3) In one case report,
a 21-year-old steroid abuser collapsed and died during a
workout.(4) The autopsy revealed an enlarged heart with
areas of dead heart-muscle tissue. Medical authorities speculated
that steroid abuse caused his heart muscle cells to grow faster
than the blood vessel supply. This created an area of heart tissue
with poor blood flow, leading to death of the new cells and a fatal
heart attack.(4)