Heart Disease from Minoxidil?
Hi DR, I have two questions: is it possible to get any heart disease by using topical minoxidil? And if I have chest pain what exactly is happening inside my body?
Thanks for your answer
If you have chest pain, you need to go to the Emergency Room or call your doctor right away. Topical minoxidil does not cause heart disease and I’ve addressed the chest pain before. Minoxidil (when taken orally) is a blood pressure lowering drug and was originally used to treat high blood pressure, but it was not very effective or consistent. Side effects of topical minoxidil can include dizziness or palpitations, but this is rare (especially if you are using the recommended 5% solution).
Are you sure doctor? It seems to affect the left ventricle even at 2%
https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/70/1/63
and..
“Topical minoxidil: cardiac effects in bald men”, from the British Journal of Clinical Pharmocology, (1988), 26, 481-485.
After using standard 2% topical minoxidil for six months, “…LV mass showed a small but significant (P = 0.05) increase in the minoxidil group vs the placebo group. LV end-diastolic volume did not change in the placebo group, but increased in the minoxidil group. The difference between the two groups was highly significant (P = 0.008). LV end-systolic volume did not change significantly. Cardiac output decreased in the placebo group but increased in the minoxidil group, resulting in a significant (P = 0.006) difference between the two groups…”