When I was starting on Cross-gender Hormone Therapy in 2004 my doctor sat down and told me the risks… Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), cardiovascular disease, elevated triglyceride levels and decreased LDL cholesterol levels, weight gain, and a host of other risks.
But sometimes we need a reminder to make sure you get annual checkups because it can save our lives.
Transgender Hormone Therapy Could Pose Heart DangersYes, we knew all this.
U.S. News and World Report
By Alan Mozes, HealthDay Reporter
February 18, 2019
MONDAY, Feb. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Men and women who get hormone therapy during gender transition treatment may face a much higher risk for developing heart disease, new Dutch research cautions.
"In light of our results, we urge both physicians and transgender individuals to be aware of this increased cardiovascular risk," said study author Dr. Nienke Nota, a researcher in the department of endocrinology at the Amsterdam University Medical Center.
"It may be helpful to reduce risk factors by stopping smoking, exercising, eating a healthy diet and losing weight, if needed, before starting therapy, and clinicians should continue to evaluate patients on an ongoing basis thereafter," Nota said in an American Heart Association news release.
The finding came from a review of medical records concerning more than 2,500 transgender women and nearly 1,400 transgender men undergoing gender transition in Holland.
[…]
Stroke risk and heart attack risk among such trans women was pegged as more than double than it was among other women, while stroke risk alone was almost twice that of men.
Deep vein clot risk among trans women was also found to be five times that of other women and 4.5 times that of men, according to the study.
Among the almost 1,400 trans men (assigned female at birth but with male gender identity) who were tracked for an average of eight years, researchers saw a tripling of heart attack risk compared to women.
But sometimes we need a reminder to make sure you get annual checkups because it can save our lives.
Having had suffered through two bouts of DVT, including a blood clot that moved from my calf into my lung, I realized that HRT would forever be unavailable for me. Just when I finally was ready to transition, HRT, and even surgeries, became out of the question. If nothing else, I am living proof that transition is possible without HRT. I had to come to grips with the fact that I could only live as a woman by staying alive to do it. It sounds simple, but what's to gain by literally dying to be a woman?
ReplyDeletean excellent point Connie and one of my fears as well after having suffered a stroke in my mid-forties.
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