Men with erectile dysfunction are more likely to have a heart attack

By Robert Cervin, June 20th, 2013 | Health | 0 Comments

A follow up study shows that men who have erectile dysfunction are more likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be linked to cardiac risk factors like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. So it is perhaps unsuprising that ED is associated with a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. But this has not been shown by research - till now. A team at the University of Texas reports on a study involving the placebo group in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial. This involved 9,450 men of whom 85 per cent had no heart disease at the start.

Nearly half of this group, free of heart disease, did have ED and just over half of those who did not developed it during the course of the study. Developing ED was associated with a 25 per cent increased risk of heart attack or stroke during follow up of seven years in total. Men who started off with ED or developed it, together, had an increased risk of heart attack or stroke of 45 per cent.

Men are more likely to seek help for ED these days, because there is effective therapy for it. These findings suggest that when a man presents with ED he should, perhaps, also be assessed for heart disease risk.