News
Men May Have Double Risk of Heart Attack and Premature Death If They Have Erectile Dysfunction, American Heart Study Says
So much for all of the Viagra ads.
Viagra and Cialis work for many men but the success of these medications may prevent many men from finding out the true cause of the problem.
If the ED occurs before there are warning signs about heart disease, the ED diagnosis means men need to be hustling themselves to a cardiologist. Right then.
The connection between ED and heart risk has been established.
What’s new here is that this study provides important information about other care ED patients may need.
This study also aids physicians in estimating a man’s future heart risks after the onset of ED.
The study did not show the treatments tested to make any difference but each patient is different. Individual risk factors need to be assessed. How advanced is the disease? Depending on the nature of the heart problem, there are a number of treatments which have the potential to win years more life for men with ED.
Spouses/significant others can play an important role here. This is a subject men don’t like to discuss. They tend to be relieved that there is a pill to “fix” this problem. They certainly are not looking for more medical opportunities to discuss this diagnosis.
Seeing a cardiologist can help a man understand risks, what he can do to reduce them and to help him monitor his cardiac status more closely than he would were ED not warning him of his risks.
Here is the study’s conclusion.
“ED is a potent predictor of all-cause death and the composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure in men with cardiovascular disease. Trial treatment did not significantly improve or worsen ED.”
“A new study suggests that men with heart problems may have double the risk of death if they also suffer from erectile dysfunction.
“The research, released today, followed more than 1,500 men receiving treatment for heart disease. The researchers found that treatments for the heart disease did little to help men suffering erectile dysfunction, but the erectile dysfunction itself was associated with a death rate almost twice that of men not suffering erectile dysfunction, as well as a doubled risk of heart attack.”
Background—Although erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis, it is not known whether the presence of ED is predictive of future events in individuals with cardiovascular disease. We evaluated whether ED is predictive of mortality and cardiovascular outcomes, and because inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system in high-risk patients reduces cardiovascular events, we also tested the effects on ED of randomized treatments with telmisartan, ramipril, and the combination of the 2 drugs (ONTARGET), as well as with telmisartan or placebo in patients who were intolerant of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (TRANSCEND).
Conclusions—ED is a potent predictor of all-cause death and the composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure in men with cardiovascular disease. Trial treatment did not significantly improve or worsen ED. (Emphasis added)
Citation: Circulation, Published online before print March 15, 2010 doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.864199
