Erectile dysfunction or impotence could hurt more than a man’s pride – it could also increase his risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
An Australian study has confirmed previous studies that suggest erectile dysfunction (ED) may be a signal of underlying heart problems but also reveals for the first time that the more severe his ED, the greater the risk a man has of suffering a heart attack or some other type of cardiovascular problem.
Some types of ED are thought to be caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. This is caused when plaque in the arteries makes them narrow and restricts the flow of blood. Atherosclerosis is a typical symptom of heart disease and now the research team from Australian National University have concluded that atherosclerosis may actually first begin in the smaller blood vessels of the penis.
Their study involved examining health questionnaires completed by more than 95,000 men aged 45 and over, then comparing those with hospital admissions for cardiovascular incidences over a three-year period. The research revealed that those with ED, regardless of whether it was mild, moderate or severe, who were not known to have heart disease were more likely to be hospitalised for heart failure when compared to those men in the study who were not impotent.
Those men who were already known to have cardiovascular disease, coupled with severe ED, were 64% more likely to suffer another heart incidence.
The study’s findings, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, could now be used by GPs to identify when a man is at greater risk of suffering heart problems by sending men who report that they are impotent to be screened for heart disease.
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