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According to an article in the June issue of the International Journal of Clinical Practice, erectile dysfunction is an early red flag for heart disease, and could provide an opportunity to prevent future heart attacks and strokes.

Men who suffer from erectile dysfunction normally develop heart-related symptoms within 2 to 3 years. They are also at risk of going through a cardiac event like a heart attack or stroke within 3 to 5 years, the study shows.

Graham Jackson, MD, a cardiologist at London Bridge Hospital in London states that erectile dysfunction can be an early sign of coronary disease which is asymptomatic, so it may predict a cardiac even in the next two to five years. “Erectile dysfunction may be associated with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and all the other risk factors for a coronary event [that] may not have been detected, but erectile dysfunction gives us a chance to find risk factors and treat before they become a major problem.”

Erectile dysfunction and heart disease can both be caused by atherosclerosis, an accumulation of plaque in the arteries, which can limit blood flow to both organs.

In fact, erectile dysfunction will result in heart disease in close to two-thirds of men. The new study shows that this connection is more pronounced in otherwise healthy men between the ages of 40 and 69 than in older men.

Otherwise healthy men and men with type 2 diabetes who develop erectile dysfunction often show early signs of heart disease, like decreased blood flow to the heart and deposits of calcium in their heart arteries. This condition can also be a sign of more severe heart disease and left ventricular dysfunction, a condition in which the heart’s main pumping chamber is lacking in strength.

“By treating erectile dysfunction, we can save a love life, but we can also use erectile dysfunction as a means of saving a life,” Jackson says. “Just because the penis is heading in the wrong direction does not mean the heart has to follow.”

Srinivas Lyengar, MD, a clinical attending cardiologist at Bradenton Cardiology Center in Bradenton, Fla., is in agreement with Jackson. He states that if you suffer from erectile dysfunction you have an increased risk of death from a cardiovascular source than someone who does not suffer from this condition.

The bottom line? “A 40-year-old man with erectile dysfunction should get a cardiovascular workup,” Lyengar states.

If this is not done, erectile dysfunction becomes a lost opportunity for preventing heart attacks and strokes. Lyengar goes on to say that doctors who diagnose and treat erectile dysfunction should also asses a man’s risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity and diabetes.

REFERENCE: Denise Mann (2010) ED a Red Flag for Heart Attack, Strokes. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/news/20100521/ed-a-red-flag-for-heart-attack-strokes?ecd=wnl_hrt_060110