Impotence And Heart Disease Linked

8 May 2003
Impotence And Heart Disease Linked
by George Atkinson

Preliminary findings from clinicians at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), show that men with erectile dysfunction are more likely to have cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease affects approximately 40,000 Canadian men annually.

"Our study suggests, that erectile dysfunction, particularly in young men, may be an early warning sign of heart disease and stroke," says MUHC Director of Clinical Epidemiology, Dr. Steven Grover.

Dr. Grover, who is also a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, and his colleagues evaluated more than 4 000 men. They compared the risk of erectile dysfunction among patients with and without cardiovascular disease. "We found that the presence of cardiovascular disease was strongly associated with erectile dysfunction," says Dr. Grover.

Among men without diagnosed cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure and low HDL cholesterol were more common among those who had erectile dysfunction. This suggests that the men who have erectile dysfunction and have no other symptoms of cardiovascular disease may be at increased risk for developing the disease. Grover said that a complete diagnostic evaluation of erectile dysfunction should include screening for cardiovascular risk factors.