The left ventricle is the largest of the heart's chambers, and the one that pumps blood to the rest of the body, other than the lungs. When the left ventricle, and the rest of the heart, is made stronger, it is less likely to be overtaxed, less likely to provide inadequate blood supplies to other parts of the body. And less likely to fail.

In Dr. Chein's words, "Studies consistently show that growth hormone therapy increases left ventricular end-systolic dimension, stroke volume, and left ventricular mass. One of our colleagues recently rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where his 90 year old father had suffered from his first heart attack. His heart failure, not responding to maximal doses of Furosemide and other cardiac medications, responded to HGH and his father was discharged home."

Just as impressive is the effect that HGH may have in preventing cell death in the heart after heart attack or stroke.

In one study, heart attacks were produced in three groups of rats, after which each group was given one of three treatments: growth hormone, IGF-1, or placebo. Afterwards, when autopsies were performed on the rats, the two groups that had received either growth hormone or IGF-1 showed much less tissue death than did the group that had received the placebo. However studies on rats given supra physiological doses of GH, decrease longevity as anticipated.

HGH is beneficial to the heart-vascular system in yet another way, through its effect on cholesterol levels. Earlier we saw the potential of HGH for reducing the blood levels of undesired substances such as cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance that is a major contributor to atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque on the walls of arteries. Two of its components, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and LDL (low-density lipoprotein), tend to work in opposite ways, one good, the other bad. The LDL is the bad one, and to help you remember, you might think of the "L" as standing for "lethal". HDL is the good one and as an additional mnemonic, you might think of the "H" as standing for "healthy".