Erections and Heart Attacks
Can Erection Difficulties Predict Coronary Heart Disease?
Thirty years ago men did not come to consult their doctors if they developed difficulty getting an erection. If they were unfortunate enough to suffer from what was then called Impotence they either put it down to the ravages of old age or tolerated it in silence.
Another reason was that medical science did not really know why some men experienced difficulty in achieving and sustaining an erection as they got older – so there was precious little doctors could offer their patients even if they plucked up the courage to come and consult us about it.
All this however, has changed. In the first place, we now know that most men who experience Erectile Dysfunction (more commonly known by its acronym ED) are suffering NOT from a lack of male hormones or any deficiency in their masculinity, but simply from a reduction in the blood flow through the arteries supplying their male organs.
In basic terms, male erection takes place following sexual stimulation because the blood flow to the penis increases, which causes it to become turgid and erect. So any thing that reduces blood flow - such as arteriosclerosis or narrowing of the arteries supplying the penis - can reduce the strength and effectiveness of a man’s erections.
It is quite natural that as men get older, their arteries get progressively narrower – which is why blood circulation gets less effective with advancing age. But the rate at which blood vessels narrow can be increased by many factors - smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and raised cholesterol. This is why erectile dysfunction is more common in people who smoke or who have conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
The importance of identifying erectile dysfunction in men is that the arteries supplying blood to the penis are just a tad smaller in diameter than the arteries supplying the heart muscle. So, any condition that affects the circulatory system and results in narrowed blood vessels, is likely to first manifest in the penile arteries before it becomes apparent in the blood vessels going to the heart. In other words, a man who has symptoms of erectile dysfunction (inability to achieve or maintain an erection that is adequate to perform normal sexual intercourse) could well be starting to get narrowing of the blood vessels supplying his heart – and consequently reduced blood flow to his heart. Therefore to an otherwise asymptomatic man Having problems with erections could well be an early warning signal of underlying heart disease that is not yet (but will soon be) severe enough to cause symptoms.
A highly significant research study 'Erectile Dysfunction and subsequent cardiovascular disease' by Thompson et al, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005) followed a large group of men over a period of 9 years and demonstrated the strong association between ED and the subsequent appearance of coronary heart disease. Men who suffered from Erectile Dysfunction were found to have a higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes than a control population! In fact, they were able to show that most men who developed ED would develop cardiac symptoms three to four years later.
If such a man consults his doctor and is properly investigated and treated, his inevitable heart attack could well be prevented. Prevention of heart attacks is important because we know that one in six men die from their first heart attack – and of those who die, about half have never experienced any symptoms of heart disease!
So if you are experiencing problems with getting an effective erection, don’t blame your age (and certainly don’t think the fault lies with your partner!). Go and see your doctor. Your erectile dysfunction could well be a very early and salutary symptom of an impending heart attack.
