Erectile Dysfunction Strong Predictor of Death

Picture credit: http://heartcurrents.com

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a strong predictor of death from all causes and of heart attack, stroke and heart failure in men with cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Michael Böhm, M.D., of the University of the Saarland in Saarbrücken, Germany, and colleagues conducted a sub-study of 1,519 men enrolled in the ONTARGET and TRANSCEND trials.

In ONTARGET, patients were randomly assigned to receive ramipril, or telmisartan, or ramipril and telmisartan.

In TRANSCEND, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor-intolerant patients were randomly assigned to receive either telmisartan or placebo.

The researchers found that men with CVD and ED (compared to those without ED) were twice as likely to suffer death from all causes and 1.6 times more likely to suffer the composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke and heart failure hospitalization. More specifically, they were:

• 1.9 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease;
• twice as likely to have a heart attack;
• 1.2 times more likely to be hospitalized for heart failure; and
• 1.1 times more likely to have a stroke.

"Proven risk-reducing medications such as ramipril, telmisartan, and the combination thereof did not have different effects on ED, but neither treatment adversely affected erectile function," the authors conclude. "The evaluation of ED in the medical history as an early symptom of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis and as a predictor of death and future cardiovascular events might be relevant to identify patients at particularly high risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event."

Journal Reference:

Böhm M, Baumhäkel M, Teo K, Sleight P, Probstfield J, Gao P, Mann JF, Diaz R, Dagenais GR, Jennings GL, Liu L, Jansky P, Yusuf S; ONTARGET/TRANSCEND Erectile Dysfunction Substudy Investigators. Erectile dysfunction predicts cardiovascular events in high-risk patients receiving telmisartan, ramipril, or both: The ONgoing Telmisartan Alone and in combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial/Telmisartan Randomized AssessmeNt Study in ACE iNtolerant subjects with cardiovascular Disease (ONTARGET/TRANSCEND) Trials. Circulation. 2010 Mar 30;121(12):1439-46.

CLICK HERE for the complete paper.

It's known that diuretics (like frusemide and hydrochlorothiazide) and beta-blockers (like atenolol and propanolol) taken for heart problems can also cause erection problems. The Zestzfulness Team underscores the advice by Dr. Stephen Parker to seek expert advice if you experience erectile dysfunction as Viagra and other PDE5 (phosphodiesterase type 5) inhibitors can mask the problem

See also our earlier report “The Penis as a Sentinel of Endothelial Health”

The Penis as a Sentinel of Endothelial Health. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with most forms of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic heart failure, peripheral artery disease, ...