Erectile dysfunction signals risk of heart disease: Study
POSTED February 9, 2009 - 20:55 | POSTED BY Nisha Bhatia
Last edited by Shikha Patial on February 9, 2009 - 21:57
Rochester, February 9: A new Mayo Clinic study has found that men aged 40 to 49 who suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) are 80 percent more likely to develop heart disease as compared with those who do not.
According to experts, ED is the signal of a man’s vulnerability to cardiovascular disease.
Study researcher Jennifer St. Sauver, Ph.D., said, "The highest risk for coronary heart disease was in younger men."
The study led by Veronique Roger (M.D., Mayo Clinic cardiologist) involved 1,402 men who lived in Olmsted County, Minn., in 1996 and had no cardiovascular or coronary diseases at the beginning of the study.
The participants were observed for 10 years. After a gap of two years, urological and sexual health of the participants was evaluated.
Questionnaire called Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory was prepared by the researchers for the study. This inventory was used to find out the prevalence of erectile dysfunction.
The results of the questionnaire analysis suggested that 2.4 percent men aged 40-49; 5.6 percent men aged 50-59; 17 percent men aged 60-69 and 38.8 percent men aged 70 years and above suffered from erectile dysfunction.
Dr. St. Sauver held, "In older men, erectile dysfunction may be of less prognostic importance for development of future heart disease."
The study has a great relevance and the findings have significantly contributed to the field of science, researchers said. The study has revealed a number of facts about the connection among age, cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction.
In the Mayo Clinic Proceedings’ editorial, Martin Miner, M.D who practices at the Men's Health Center, Miriam Hospital, Providence, R.I., stated that study conclusions "raise the possibility of a 'window of curability,' in which progression of cardiacdefine disease might be slowed or halted by medical intervention."
Erectile dysfunction is a medical condition that emerges due to sexual incapability. Men with ED have inability to develop an erection of penis, essential for satisfactory sexual performance.
The probability to develop erectile dysfunction increases with age. About 5 to 10 percent of men experience sexual dysfunction at the age of 40 and about 40 to 60 percent by the age of 70.
February 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings carried the findings of the study.
