Heart Disease & Erectile Dysfunction

If you want to know whether erectile dysfunction is a sign of heart disease, you are in the right place. Men experience erectile dysfunction from ancient times, and studies show that one in ten men has ED issues. Expert doctors also confirm that it is not a natural part of aging and it is only because of many vascular, hormonal, and neurological factors. And many of them establish it could be an alarming sign of heart disease. But, again, it is because of the vascular factors common for erectile dysfunction and heart disease to occur earlier for ED and later for heart ailments. Hence, you should not take erectile dysfunction as an inability for sexual activity but treat it carefully to avoid heart diseases.

Check out the causes, risks, and ways to treat erectile dysfunction to prevent or postpone heart problems.

ED & Heart Disease Alarming Stats

Heart or cardiovascular disease kills over 17.9 million each year to be the leading cause of death globally. It is a group of blood vessels and heart disorders that include cerebrovascular disease, coronary and rheumatic heart diseases, among other conditions. In addition, ED or erectile dysfunction is to affect 322 million people worldwide by 2025. Though it does not kill anyone, it could lead to cardiovascular diseases later, as both involve the same causes. Studies confirm that 57% of men with bypass surgery and 64% hospitalized for a heart attack had ED. Not that all men suffering from ED could show a heart problem, but they need a diagnosis to start an early treatment. It is especially for those with ED issues with no obvious causes like trauma or any symptoms of heart problems.

What Causes ED And Heart Diseases?

Vascular diseases that affect the blood vessels are one of the significant causes of ED. A few vascular diseases include atherosclerosis which is hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure or hypertension, and high cholesterol. Together, all of it accounts for over 7 percent of the organic or physical related causes for erectile dysfunction. It is because they limit the blood flow to the penis, heart, and brain.

The significant causes for ED include one or all of the following conditions.

• Damage in the nerves to the penis to not make it function normally
• Inadequate blood circulation to the penis
• Lack of sexual stimulation from the brain

What Is The Link Between ED & Heart Disease?

From the causes of ED and heart diseases, it is easy to find the link between them. Studies confirmed their connection since heart problems and ED are because of the plaques building up in the arteries. But experts now believe that the ED, which is a sign of heart problems, is more because of blood vessel inner lining dysfunction called the endothelium and smooth muscle.

The endothelial dysfunction causes impaired blood supply to the heart and not enough blood flow to the penis even after the brain-stimulating sexual arousal. This condition aids the development of atherosclerosis, which causes the hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, and cholesterol to lead to heart diseases.

What Are The Risk Factors For ED & Heart Disease?

Since there is more of a possibility of ED and heart disease having a link, let us see the common risk factors for both.

• Diabetic men are more prone to both ED and heart diseases, and for those with uncontrollable sugar, even ED drugs like sildenafil will not give the desired effect.
• Since smoking damages the arteries, it is harmful to cause both erectile dysfunction and many heart diseases.
• Drinking excess alcohol increases the blood pressure and cholesterol to contribute to the cause of heart diseases, and damaging the nerves could cause a double the risk for ED issues.
• Uncontrolled high blood pressures damage the artery linings and speed up the vascular disease process, and some of its medications, like thiazide diuretics, can also cause sexual dysfunction.
• High cholesterol increases the LDL or low-density lipoprotein that could cause atherosclerosis, leading to both heart disease and erectile dysfunction.
• Though experts confirm that ED is not part of natural aging, it is common that older people may not develop firm erections for many other reasons.
However, if younger people with no proper reason have ED, it could be an alarming signal for future heart problems.
• Obesity, which is fast reaching epidemic proportions globally and could cause many ailments, including both heart diseases and erectile dysfunction
• Studies confirm that men with lower testosterone levels have higher rates of heart disease and ED than men with higher testosterone levels.

Apart from the above risk factors, many studies have confirmed that over half the heart disease patients had ED in their life. Also, experts confirm that men having ED have more chances of having heart disease within five years. Hence, it has become more of a risk like a smoking history or coronary artery disease.

How To Avoid Heart Disease If Having Ed?

Though ED may be a precursor for heart disease, it should add to its worries to cause more stress to accelerate the process. Even the many studies only show that over 50% of those having heart problems experienced ED. Hence, not that all having ED will surely have heart disease as well. But apart from diagnosing the heart problems, getting early medical help to postpone the disease is advisable. Moreover, making any lifestyle change for the heart also improves the penis health to have enough blood and erection. Hence, following the ways given below may reduce the chances of heart disease and ED issues.

• Quitting smoking once and for all
• Reducing alcohol is stopping it
• Eating a proper and nutritious diet
• Exercising regularly for the body to be more active and maintaining proper body weight
• Take ED drugs to treat the issues.

So taking ED drugs will not only give enough erection but also bring happiness into the life to be with less stress, anxiety, and depression. Hence, doing all of it will increase the overall health and especially the heart condition to avoid any problems in the future.