Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Disease

Erectile dysfunction is a strong predictor of death in men with cardiovascular disease, according to new research out this week. Heart disease can also cause atherosclerosis which is a condition where your arteries harden and this condition will then cause erectile dysfunction as it affects the blood flow to the penis. Medicines like statins and fibrates which are used to treat high cholesterol levels can lead to erectile dysfunction as they too can affect erection.

German researchers said in the Journal of the American Heart Association that men with cardiovascular disease, also known as heart disease, and ED were twice as likely to die from all causes than men who did not have erectile dysfunction. And those with ED were 1.6 times more likely to suffer from a serious cardiovascular problem such as a heart attack or stroke.

The study focused on 1,519 men from 13 countries who had heart disease. The men were asked in a questionnaire whether they suffered from ED and at what degree they were impotent (mild, mild-to-moderate, moderate or severe). They were given follow-up questionnaires after two years and at their final visits five years later.
During the five years, some men were given specific drugs for heart disease, such as ACE inhibitors including ramipril, telmisartan or a combination. These drugs relax blood vessels and decrease the heart's workload. Others were given placebos.
After the five years, researchers found that patients with ED tended to be older and had a higher prevalence of hypertension, stroke, diabetes and lower urinary tract surgery than those without ED. And deaths from all causes occurred in 11.3 percent of the patients who reported ED but in only 5.6 percent of those with no or mild ED at the start of the study.

Among patients with heart problems, those with erectile dysfunction, or ED, are far more likely to suffer heart attacks or die from heart problems in the near future, a new study suggests.
The research, released Monday, took a look at more than 1,500 men who received treatment for heart disease over a roughly four-year period.
The findings did not bode well for those who experienced erectile problems along with their heart issues. The researchers found that treatment for heart disease did little to help erectile dysfunction in men with this problem. But more troubling was the finding that men who experienced both erectile dysfunction and heart problems were twice as likely to die over the course of the study than those who had heart problems alone. The men with erectile dysfunction also faced a doubled risk of heart attack.
"I think we need to bear in mind that if somebody has erectile dysfunction, we really need to treat them," said Dr. Koon Teo, a professor in the department of medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and one of the researchers on the study.

Treat the Heart Disease, Help the Erectile Dysfunction
Getting exercise, achieving a healthy weight, avoiding smoking — those steps are a standard prescription for people who want to lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.

But according to a new review of previously published studies, they’re also a good way to improve erectile dysfunction. According to their review, those lifestyle interventions (on their own and combined with statin drugs) were associated with a statistically significant improvement in sexual function, write the authors of the new analysis, published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“If you help the blood flow in one area, you can help it in another,” Stephen Kopecky, an author of the study and a preventive cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic.

Kopecky tells the Health Blog that not all men who experience erectile dysfunction have coronary artery disease — a narrowing of the blood vessels leading to the heart. But ED is a risk factor for CAD, and tends to show up three to five years ahead of heart problems.

That can make it an important warning sign, particularly for younger men. A 60-year-old man with ED has only a slightly higher chance of having cardiovascular disease, he says. But a 40-year-old man with ED is 50 times more likely to have CAD than a contemporary without ED, he says.

Kopecky says ED is also a unique warning sign in another way. It’s no secret that men tend to be reluctant to go to the doctor or to disclose symptoms of potentially dangerous conditions. But while men may not tell their spouses or partners about chest pain that hits while going up the stairs, ED is different. “You can’t hide from it,” he says.

That may prompt a partner to suggest a visit to the doctor, he says.

Of course plenty of men treat their ED problems with drugs such as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis. But like statins, ED drugs work better when they’re combined with lifestyle measures, Kopecky says. Men who have had to ramp up their ED drug dosage over the years might respond better to lower dosages if they lose weight, eat more healthfully, get exercise and stop smoking, he says.

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