- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in a new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in a new window)
- Click here to share on LinkedIn (Opens in a new window)
- Click to email a friend (Opens in a new window)
(CNN) - Men who suffer from erectile dysfunction can face an even greater problem than bed frustration. Erectile dysfunction can predict your risk of a stroke or heart attack in the future.
LOOK: Lack of sleep may be ruining your sex life
That is the conclusion of a meta-analysis of studies on more than 150,000 men published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine . Compared to men without symptoms of impotence, the analysis found that men with erectile dysfunction have a 59% higher risk of coronary heart disease or atherosclerosis, a 34% higher risk of stroke and a 33% higher risk of dying from any cause .
"Erectile dysfunction can actually develop years before men have other signs or symptoms of cardiovascular events," said Dr. Ron Blankstein, a preventive cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a member of the Prevention and Leadership Council Section of the American College of Cardiology.
What is erectile dysfunction?
Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to create or maintain an erection firm enough to have sex. In addition to cardiovascular diseases, there are many things that can interfere with a man's sexual performance: stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, smoking, alcohol consumption and certain medications such as beta blockers, blood pressure medications, antidepressants and antihistamines, To name a few.
READ: On the trail of "miracle products" against erectile dysfunction
A performance issue from time to time cannot be considered a sign of impotence, said Blankstein, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. But if a man feels that his sexual performance is significantly worse than it has been in previous years, then it is time to worry.
"In many cases, it could be the first warning sign of underlying cardiovascular disease," Blankstein added. "So, if erectile dysfunction is a repeated pattern, a man really needs to pay aggressive attention to having heart disease."
“A canary in the coal mine”
There is a good reason why this particular male organ is a good predictor of future circulatory problems. It serves as a kind of “canary in the coal mine” - an expression used to speak of warning signs, which comes from a mining practice that involves checking for dangerous gases in a mine by seeing the reaction of a canary in a cage.
"The artery of the penis that carries blood flow to the penis is of a much smaller diameter, and it is the smaller blood vessels that show the first signs of disease," said Blankstein. "They can't dilate and provide enough blood flow."
LOOK: The most intense exercise is related to a better sex life, according to an exploratory study
To see if early heart disease can be a factor in your erectile dysfunction, Bankstein suggests a thorough examination at the doctor. Things you should look for include abnormal blood sugar levels that could be a sign of diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, and may even include a scan of calcium in the coronary arteries, to look for a plaque in the arteries of the heart.
What to do?
If you have erectile dysfunction, you should talk with your doctor about doing lifestyle interventions. As a preventive cardiologist, Blankstein would first make sure you don't smoke, or if you do, encourage you to quit smoking.
"Smoking is the most important modifiable risk factor, both for heart disease and for erectile dysfunction," he said.
READ: 20 years of viagra in the United States: the tablet that could
Next on the list is weight loss and exercise, both important factors for improving erectile dysfunction and improving long-term cardiovascular health. Try a plant-based diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, Blankstein suggests, studies have shown to be particularly helpful.
"I think the important message is that, at least, you should pay attention to the risk factors underlying heart disease, smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol," said Blankstein. "And if you have erectile dysfunction, it helps to make sure you're treating them even more aggressively."
heart attacks Erectile dysfunction
