Cardiovascular Safety and Benefits of Testosterone Implant Therapy in Postmenopausal Women: Where Are We?

The document discusses the cardiovascular safety and benefits of subcutaneous testosterone therapy (STT) in postmenopausal women. It proposes a new criteria (IDEALSTT) for recommending STT, based on total testosterone level, carotid artery intima-media thickness, and calculated SCORE for a 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease. Despite controversies, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with testosterone has become prominent in treating pre and postmenopausal women. The document also highlights the challenges in diagnosing low testosterone in women due to lack of standard analysis and the fact that much of the total circulating testosterone is biologically unavailable due to its binding to sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). The document concludes that constant monitoring is key to the safety and effectiveness of STT treatment. It also mentions that studies have shown no association between endogenous levels of testosterone in women and coronary artery disease, and some studies have shown that it might have a protective effect. However, more long-term dosing studies should be conducted to evaluate testosterone deficiency in women.