Glucocorticoid therapy is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases

Abstract

Glucocorticoids (GC) are one of the most common drugs in the practice of doctors of various specialties because of their therapeutic effects. The increased number of usage is related to the current SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic. However, GC therapy has serious obstacles caused by side effects, including those leading to fatal outcomes. Side effects include: glucose and lipid metabolism impairments, weight gain, sleep disorders, thromboembolism, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, myopathy, etc. The described processes cause a direct increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases (CVD) even with short-term therapy and low doses of GC, which affects the further life, prognosis and outcomes of the underlying disease. This review describes in detail the pathogenetic mechanisms and the mutual influence of the side effects of GC, their contribution to the subsequent occurrence of CVD and focuses on the danger of irrational use of GC therapy.