Men Suffering From Heart Disease Unaware of Possible Erectile Dysfunction Risks

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Men suffering from heart disease are at risks of suffering an erectile dysfunction but only a few of them know or understand the things they could do to make sexual difficulties less likely, according to a new Polish study.

The researchers examined men with ischemic heart disease or hardening or arteries, which restricts blood flow to the heart. In cases of erectile dysfunction, it also reduces circulation in the penis. This type of heart disease is associated with most cases of erectile dysfunction among men older than 60-years old, Medical Daily reported.

The study involved 500 men that were 62-years old on average. All of them had experienced at least one previous heart attack. Most of them were smokers and overweight. They were also suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Almost all of the participant do not get sufficient exercise and 15 percent were even obese.

Among the sample in the study, about 190 or 38 percent could not name any six things they do to minimize their risk of erectile dysfunction, which should include quitting smoking, shedding excess pounds, controlling diabetes, lowering cholesterol, reducing blood pressure and getting more exercise.

Only 31 or 6 percent of the participants were able to name all six activities that can modify the risk factor for erectile dysfunction, according to the researchers in the International Journal of Impotence Research.

Study co-author Zygmunt Domagala of Wroclaw Medical University in Poland said in an email that, instead of focusing on those risks, many men believed that erectile dysfunction is caused by low testosterone. However, Domagala stressed that one's lifestyle may increase one's risk to such condition.

"Patients simply don't understand that a healthy lifestyle with leisure time physical activity and some diet modifications such as eating fish can influence penile function," Domagala said.

Almost 80 percent of the men already experienced erectile dysfunction, with about 23 percent of them describing the condition as severe or moderate to severe. Unfortunately, having the said condition still did not make them more likely to identify the modifiable risk factors. This could be due to lack of efficient sex education, the authors explained.

Cleveland Clinic also reported that there is a strong link between erectile dysfunction and heart disease. Per the report, several studies have shown that men suffering from this condition have a greater risk of having heart disease. For instance, one study revealed that 57 percent of men who had a bypass surgery and 64 percent of men hospitalized for a heart attack had erectile dysfunction.

Dr. Vito Angelo Giagulli is calling all men with erectile dysfunction to overcome their negative attitude and encourage them to ask their doctors about their problem.