Studies
show that too little Human Growth Hormone (HGH) or too much such
as in those who have acromegaly - a disease due to the overproduction
of HGH die of increased heart disease. But when there is just
the right amount of HGH which all average people lose after age
21 and do not have enough of by the mid thirties it does wonders
in improving the health of the heart. In a study done by Bengtsson
of the university of Goteborg on 333 patients with severe HGH
deficiency at Sahlgrenska Hospital it was found that there was
twice the number of deaths from heart disease with people matched
with the same age and sex. What was found was that these had a
higher fat to lean ratio and in particular this was concentrated
in the abdomen area which is the area known to raise the risk
of heart attacks.
Secondly,
their cholesterol levels were normal but when the cholesterol
was split between LDL and HDL cholesterol
is was far from normal. LDL which is low-density lipoproteins
is a bad kind of cholesterol which clogs the artery walls and
can cause heart attacks and strokes. HDL meaning high-density
protein is the good cholesterol which actually sucks the bad LDL
from the artery walls and carries it to the liver which harmlessly
disposes of it. Also, these had high levels of triglycerides which
are associated with heart disease and diabetes. They also had
increased fibrinogen, a blood protein that promotes clot formation
and higher levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)
which prevents the body from dissolving clots. They also had higher
than normal blood pressure and increased insulin resistance which
strangely in children who are HGH deficient is the opposite with
greater sensitivity and tending to hypoglycemia. When these patients
were given HGH it had the profound effect of clearing the deep
fat in the abdomen as well as an overall trimming of fat and increase
in lean body mass. Their, the HDL was raised and the LDL which
clogs arteries was lowered and after six months of using
HGH their diastolic blood pressure was reduced by 10 percent although
the systolic pressure did not change. It was at one time thought
that HGH would raise blood pressure but now numerous trials on
patients have shown the opposite. Also,
these benefits are not limited to patients with GH deficiency
due to disease.
For example, a study in Germany found that the more HGH normal
men and women had naturally the more higher is the level of HDL
(healthy cholesterol). This same thing happened in people who
took HGH for the purpose of their own well being in the study
conducted by Doctor Edmund Chein and L. Cass Terry, M.D., who
amassed clinical data from more than 800 patients. Bengtsson also
points out that HGH acts directly on the root cause of most heart
disease and heart attacks. This is because GH enhances the metabolism
in the liver by increasing the number of LDL receptors in the
cells of the liver which removes the bad LDL cholesterol from
the arteries. He expects future studies will actually prove that
HGH can reverse arteriosclerosis. In the past most focused on
the plaques in the arteries but now the focus is shifting on it
being a metabolic disease with the focus on the liver. Several
studies show that HGH may protect against chronic heart failure.
In
a 1996 study published in the prestigious New England Journal
of Medicine, five men and two women who had moderate to severe
heart failure were given 4 IU of HGH every other day for three
months along with the standard treatments for their condition.
The HGH increased the thickness of the left ventricular wall,
enhanced the ability of the heart to contract and pump out blood,
reduced the oxygen required by the heart, improved the capacity
to exercise and the patients overall quality of life. A GH deficient
patient at St. Thomas' Hospital in London had congestive heart
failure that failed to respond to conventional medical treatment.
His situation degenerated to the point where he became a candidate
for a heart transplant. Dr. Peter Sonksen, a pioneer in growth
hormone research decided to give his patient HGH because there
was no donor available. The result was astounding. The treatment
increased heart ability to contract and the peripheral circulation
improved so much that the patient no longer required a transplant.
Many studies show that GH deficient patients treated with HGH
increase the thickness of the left ventricular mass, raise the
cardiac output, strengthen the stroke volume, and improve the
overall pumping of the heart which one would think would cause
an increase in blood pressure. However, the diastolic
blood pressure goes down which means the body somehow compensates
for increased output by decreasing peripheral resistance in the
arteries and capillaries so that blood pressure remains low.
Studies on animals show the HGH protects the cells of the heart
and brain from dying after a heart attack. When cells die in the
brain and heart after a heart attack the cells can never be replaced
which means the damage is irreversible with loss possibly being
in areas such as movement, memory, clear thinking and so on. Researchers
produced heart attacks in rats and then immediately gave them
one of three treatments, a placebo, HGH, or IGF-1 which is produced
through HGH. When they autopsied the groups which had received
HGH or IGF-1 there was far less damage than the placebo group.
A similar study on animals in Auckland, New Zealand revealed that
IGF-1 when given after the injury to the brain actually rescued
brain cells.
Information
in my own words taken from a book titled, "Grow Young with
HGH" (copyright 1997) by Ronald Klatz, MD
