Did you know that high blood pressure can determine your possibility of having a child? Sperm health plays a crucial role for couples trying to get pregnant. In actuality, up to 40% of cases of infertility involve male infertility in one way or another. Sperm health can be influenced by a variety of things one of them is medications so it’s fair to learn about some particular drugs that should be avoided as it relates to male infertility. Did you know that certain medications, such as blood pressure medications can have an impact on sperm quality and health? Drugs such as Atorvastatin, Amlodipine, and Valsartan have been found to hurt sperm quality. In this article, we will take a holistic look at anti-hypertensive drugs that plays a detrimental role in male fertility.
Anti-hypertensive Drugs That Play A Detrimental Role In Male Fertility
You must be wondering if over-the-counter medications like aspirin or ibuprofen kill sperm. Fortunately, most popular over-the-counter (OTC) drugs shouldn’t lower sperm count if used as directed and in the recommended dosage.
On the other hand, since there isn’t a single solution that works for everyone, we advise you to speak with your cardiologist before using any of these medications, particularly if you are over 35 and hoping to get pregnant soon.
Anti-hypertensive Drugs That Destroy Sperm Quality
There are popular anti-hypersensitive drugs out there that are beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) which seem to play a detrimental role in male fertility, causing in several cases azoospermia ( no single sperm cell in your discharge) /or oligozoospermia(few to low sperm cell in your ejaculate). Common examples of these drugs are verapamil, nifedipine, diltiazem, and amlodipine. These drugs fall in the category of Calcium channel blockers. They have been observed to decrease both sperm motility and viability as well as changes in the structure of the head and tail regions.
In addition, hypertension drugs like propranolol, metoprolol, carvedilol, atenolol, and nebivolol are beta blockers that have hurt erectile function in some men.
Effect Of Atorvastatin on Male Fertility
According to research findings, The use of atorvastatin by hypercholesterolemic patients could reduce circulating testosterone concentration and sperm quality. While this drug is highly recommended for cardiovascular issues prevention the drug is the subject of questions over its impact on male fertility.
According to results obtained after Atorvastatin (10 mg/day)was administrated to 17 men randomly with normal blood lipid and spermatozoa parameters for 5 months.
It was discovered that Atorvastatin significantly decreased circulating LDL-C and cholesterol concentrations (respectively −40 and −23%, without affecting HDL-C and triglycerides, reaching the targets for secondary prevention. The concentrations of gonadotropins and testosterone were not affected. Overall sperm quality (concentration, mobility, sterols levels in spermatozoa and seminal fluid, capacitation ability) was not affected. However, live spermatozoa percentage was reduced by atorvastatin −8%.
The seminal fluid concentrations of α-glucosidase were significantly decreased after ending the treatment as well as the proportion of spermatozoa having spontaneously lost their acrosome (Spam head cap).
Effect of Amlodipine on Male Fertility
Amlodipine is a calcium chain blocker that has been linked with azoospermia and/or oligozoospermia. It has been linked with adverse effects on testicular histology, sperm cell morphology, and motility especially when abused or wrongly prescribed.
Effect Of Valsartan on Male Fertility
Valsartan if used at a low dose produces maximum sperm motility as the DNA integrity of spermatozoa remains intact. At a low dose, Luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone levels will decrease and testosterone levels will increase which indicates fertility. However, a high dosage of Valsartan could lead to testicular damage hence, it is concluded that the use of Valsartan at a low dose is devoid of any harmful effect on spermatogenesis but a high dosage could have adverse effect on the man’s fertility.
In conclusion, it is part of man to develop hypertension at one point or the other in life knowing fully well that one in every 5 adult develop hypertension during life. However, ample information must be provided to your cardiologist with regards to your reproductive health treatment when you are picking up medications to stabilize your blood pressure and cholesterol.
We hope you found this piece very informative. You can book a consultation with us today for more.
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