Postmenopausal women taking testosterone therapy to boost sex drive may be facing a significantly higher risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular events, according to new research presented last month at the 2026 annual meeting of The Menopause Society in San Diego.
The study tracked more than 6,000 postmenopausal women age 45 and older, comparing those who received testosterone therapy against those who did not. Women with a prior history of cardiovascular disease were excluded from the analysis.
The numbers are stark. Among women on testosterone therapy, 3.8% experienced a first-time cardiovascular event. Among those not on the therapy, that figure was 0.5%. Broken down per capita, that’s about 38 cardiovascular events for every 1,000 women on testosterone, versus 5 per 1,000 for women who weren’t taking it. The events tracked included heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other cardiovascular complications.
Testosterone is produced naturally by the ovaries and adrenal glands and plays a role in sexual desire, muscle and bone health, mood and cognition, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
A Real Signal, But Not Proof of Cause
Dallas-based OB-GYN and menopause expert Dr. Anna Cabeca, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital the gap between the two groups is too large to dismiss.
“The difference between 3.8% and 0.5% is certainly significant enough to warrant attention, but we need to be careful about what these numbers actually tell us,” Cabeca said.
The study has real limitations. It was observational rather than a controlled trial — researchers tracked outcomes among women already receiving testosterone rather than randomly assigning the treatment. That means the findings establish a link, not causation. Women on testosterone may have differed from those who weren’t in ways that independently affected heart risk, including age, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol and other factors, Cabeca said.
“This is an important safety signal that deserves further investigation, not definitive evidence of causation,” she added.
What Doctors Should Weigh
Cabeca said she still believes sexual health is a legitimate medical concern deserving serious treatment.
“Sexual health is an essential part of overall health, and women deserve to have their concerns about libido, arousal and intimacy taken seriously, particularly during and after menopause,” she said.
But she said testosterone therapy should only be prescribed after a full review of a patient’s heart history, blood pressure, cholesterol, metabolic health, current medications and family history. When it is appropriate, Cabeca recommends careful dosing, ongoing monitoring, and regular follow-up on symptoms and lab results. Fox News Digital reached out to the study’s researchers for comment.
