ED: It’s Not All About Sex . . .

A new ad campaign for Levitra® tells us that 8 million US men have diabetes, 28 million have high blood pressure, and 50 million have raised cholesterol levels. And it goes onto say that a lot of these men may have ‘a sexual problem’ (read erectile dysfunction, or ED). You may argue a bit about the connection between high cholesterol and ED, but all three of these conditions have a feature in common - the presence of changes in blood vessels characterized by atherosclerosis.

Recently Italian physicians have reported that men with ED had generalized changes suggestive of atherosclerosis leading to possible coronary artery disease – e.g. higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and increased coronary artery calcium deposits – compared with men of the same age and health factors, but without ED.

It seems that the small penile arteries can suffer partial obstruction from atherosclerosis earlier than the larger coronary arteries, so that ED may indeed be a warning sign of further arterial disease to come. Indeed, some people go so far as to say ED may be a ‘risk factor’ for a heart attack. A larger study published this month shows that the risk of any cardiovascular event (heart attack, stroke, or severe angina) is increased in men with ED, to an extent equivalent to current smoking or a family history of heart attack.

While there may be other reasons for ED , men with this sexual problem should certainly have their doctors give them a general check up, to make sure a more life-threatening condition isn’t lurking. Wives should be aware of this possibility, too, in case their husband is reluctant to consult the doctor.

Comments

[Robert Griffith]

Just how common is ED? One answer comes from a new study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In US men over 20, 1 in 5 are affected at one time or another. By age 75, three-quarters of men are affected. Hispanic men are more likely to report ED than other races. Obesity, high blood pressure, smoking,and diabetes are associated with ED. The report is at:
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/166/2/207