Erectile dysfunction warns of worse problems
Erectile dysfunction warns of worse problems
In diabetics, impotence may double cardiac risks, new studies say
Men with diabetes already know that erectile dysfunction can be a distressing side effect of the illness, adding insult to injury for about 80 percent of those who have the disease.
But sexual symptoms may also signal problems that go beyond impaired intimacy, according to new research that shows diabetic men who struggle with impotence face twice the risk for potentially deadly heart problems.
In fact, erectile dysfunction can predict cardiovascular troubles that include chest pain, heart attack, stroke — and death, according to two new studies published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Men with type 2 diabetes can’t afford to ignore the warning, even if it’s embarrassing, said Dr. Peter C.Y. Tong, an associate professor at Prince of Wales Hospital at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who studied the problem in more than 2,300 Chinese men.
“You must take action NOW to improve upon these modifiable risk factors,” Tong wrote in an e-mail. “Otherwise, you will have a high chance of having a heart attack in the near future.”
Men who have difficulty achieving or maintaining erections should tell their doctors without delay so they can be evaluated for further cardiac risk. Interventions might include changes in diet, exercise or medication, experts said.
Diabetes experts in the U.S. caution that erectile dysfunction is just one of several complications of diabetes that should serve as a warning flag for dangerous cardiovascular problems. But it’s one that may make men take notice, said Dr. John Buse, president of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association.
“The information is fabulous, in a way, because men tend not to pay attention to long term health care issues,” Buse said, adding: “There’s just a lot of denial.”
Tong’s research studied diabetic men in their mid-50s with no history of heart disease for up to seven years. He found that those with erectile dysfunction were nearly twice as likely to have problems associated with coronary heart disease than those without. Of 616 men with erectile dysfunction, 49, or about 8 percent, suffered cardiac problems such as heart failure, heart attack or stroke, the study showed, compared to 74 out of 1,690 men without ED, or about 4.4 percent.
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May. 19, 2008
By JoNel Aleccia
MSNBC
