Patients with erectile dysfunction are often prescribed with the blue pill
“[ Impotence ] in men with known cardiovascular disease similarly identifies an increased risk . Erectile dysfunction , like type II diabetes , is a cardiovascular equivalent requiring an aggressive risk-reduction strategy for cardiovascular disease , whether there is or is no known cardiovascular disease . It is time to act on the evidence .”
Dr Sriram contends that all erectile dysfunction patients should be viewed as cardiac patients until proven otherwise . Research shows that , on average , cardiac ischaemia patients will present with erectile dysfunction about three years before they go on to develop an attack of acute chest pain . Those with pre-existing erectile dysfunction will go on to develop a more severe form of coronary artery disease compared to those who do not have impotence .
“ It ’ s like a warning flag long before the heart is actually going to give way ,” he said . “ Too many prescriptions for strange medications are given out to people who suffer from erectile dysfunction without them actually being assessed properly . It ’ s actually the most important early marker of underlying cardiac disease .”
This is because cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction share modifiable risk factors , such as hypertension , hyperlipidaemia , diabetes , obesity , lack of physical exercise , cigarette smoking , poor diet , excess alcohol consumption , and psychological stress .
Similarly , lifestyle modification and therapy involving statins have been associated with a statistically significant improvement in sexual function , changes that historically have also been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality .
“ Men with erectile dysfunction , therefore , provide an opportunity to identify cardiovascular disease risk factors and initiate targeted risk-reduction lifestyle changes . By reducing the risk of erectile dysfunction , this might be an unexplored motivation to tackle cardiovascular diseases risk factors , adding ‘ life to years as well as years to life ’,” wrote Dr Jackson in his review .
In healthy individuals , blood flows freely through
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com APRIL 2021
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