Cardiovascular consequences of cortisol excess

[~MaryO~]

Vascular Health and Risk Management

Issue: Issue 4

Cardiovascular consequences of cortisol excess

 

Judith A Whitworth1, Paula M Williamson1, George Mangos2, John J Kelly2

 

1John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia; 2Department of Renal Medicine, St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW, Australia

 

Abstract: Cushing?s syndrome is a consequence of primary or, more commonly, secondary oversecretion of cortisol. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Cushing?s syndrome, and excess risk remains even in effectively treated patients. The cardiovascular consequences of cortisol excess are protean and include, inter alia, elevation of blood pressure, truncal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. This review analyses the relationship of cortisol excess, both locally and at tissue level, to these cardiovascular risk factors, and to putative mechanisms for hypertension. Previous studies have examined correlations between cortisol, blood pressure, and other parameters in the general population and in Cushing?s syndrome. This review also details changes induced by short-term cortisol administration in normotensive healthy men.

Keywords: blood pressure, cortisol, Cushing?s syndrome, risk factors

 

 

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[judycolby]

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Cushing?s syndrome, and excess risk remains even in effectively treated patients.

This worries me - for Bill. His bp stays way too high even on several meds.

Judy

[SusanM]

I realize that this is only an extract, but it doesn't mention Congestive Heart Failure. That's what I had and at the time, the docs indocated that it was caused from the Cushings.