Testosterone Therapy Linked To Heart Attack, Stroke Among Aging Women

TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Older women might want to think twice before taking testosterone to treat their lagging libido, a new study says.

Testosterone therapy appears to increase a woman’s risk of heart attack, stroke and other heart problems, researchers are slated to report today at the annual meeting of The Menopause Society.

“Our findings identify a potentially important cardiovascular safety signal associated with testosterone therapy in postmenopausal women,” lead researcher Dr. Xuezhi Daniel Jiang said in a news release. He’s a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

About 10% to 15% of women past menopause develop a persistent and distressing loss of interest in sex, researchers said in background notes.

Testosterone therapy is not routinely recommended for aging women, but is prescribed off-label to help those suffering from low libido, researchers said.

To assess the potential risks of this off-label use, researchers analyzed health data from more than 6,300 menopausal women 45 years and older, about half of whom had been prescribed testosterone therapy.

Results showed that nearly 4% of women given testosterone had a higher risk of heart problems like heart attack, stroke and heart failure, compared to 0.5% of those who weren’t prescribed the hormone.

“Although absolute event rates were low, the consistency of the association across multiple analyses warrants further prospective investigation,” Jiang said.

The association held even when researchers compared women on both testosterone and menopause hormone therapy with those on hormone therapy alone, researchers said.

“Cardiovascular disease remains the No. 1 killer of women, and studies like this are important as long-term safety data on testosterone use in women are lacking,” Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for the Menopause Society, said in a news release. “The findings are a reminder for healthcare professionals to carefully balance individualized risks and benefits when prescribing testosterone.”

The Menopause Society meeting continues through Friday in San Diego.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The Menopause Society has more on sexual health in menopause.

SOURCE: The Menopause Society, news release, Oct. 20, 2026