On its own, erectile dysfunction (ED) is a serious quality-of-life issue that affects about 30 million men in the United States.
From our standpoint as heart health experts, Dr. Madaiah Revana and the team here at Humble Cardiology view ED in another light — as a sign that there might be an issue with your cardiovascular health.
Here, we look at the close connection between your sexual health and your heart health to illustrate the importance of investigating your ED if it’s becoming a chronic issue.
To understand how your circulation can affect your ability to achieve and maintain an erection, let’s go back to basics and review how an erection works.
It all starts with arousal — a touch or visual that stimulates you. From there, your brain answers the arousal call by setting off the cascade that leads to an erection, which includes a rush of blood to your penis.
If there's anything that’s getting in the way of this blood flow, there won’t be enough for an erection.
Of course, there are more variables than this, but lack of sufficient blood flow to the penis due to blood vessel issues is the leading cause of ED in men, so this is a very good place to start when you’re experiencing sexual dysfunction.
We’ve established the need for additional blood flow to achieve an erection, so now let’s get into what might be hampering this flow.
In most cases, it comes down to atherosclerosis, which describes blockages in your arteries due to plaque buildup (from cholesterol and other substances). Accumulation of plaque can lead to coronary artery disease, which affects more than 20 million adults in the US and is the leading type of heart disease.
Another cardiovascular road to ED is hypertension, aka high blood pressure, which affects nearly half of the adult population in the US. In one registry of high-risk hypertensive patients, 71% of participants had some degree of ED.
As you can see from these scenarios alone, having ED can be a barometer for other areas of your health, so viewing ED as part of a potentially bigger health picture is a good idea.
If you suspect that your ED might be related to a blood flow problem, we recommend that you come see us for an evaluation. Investigating your ED in this way may save your life, as some of the issues we discussed earlier can also lead to heart attack and stroke.
To get started, we can run some tests to see whether there’s any evidence of atherosclerosis, hypertension, or other problems that can affect how well your blood is circulating.
If we find an issue, we can work toward improving your cardiovascular health through medications, lifestyle modifications, and other therapies, which should help remedy your ED and improve your overall health.
To get on the road to better sexual, and all-around, health, please contact us at one of our two offices in Humble or Houston, Texas. You can click here to schedule your appointment.
