Erectile dysfunction can be a symptom of serious diseases
Impotence may indicate heart problems
Let's say right away that we are not going to expose such drugs and accuse some Viagra of inefficiency. We will talk about the fact that self-medication in this case (as in many others) can lead to the fact that a man misses serious health problems, the symptom of which was impotence and from which no aphrodisiac or viagra will help.
Erectile dysfunction may be associated with diabetes or cardiovascular problems. Scientists have known about the connection with diabetes for quite a long time: for example, in 1997 it was shown that four out of five men with diabetes also get impotence, and among diabetics the proportion of men with erectile dysfunction is twice as high as among healthy ones. Diabetes is known to be associated with high cholesterol, overweight and pressure problems, and all this can have a bad effect on the blood vessels of the penis: blood flow in it may decrease, which will worsen the erection. In addition, with diabetes, nerve fibers suffer, which again can affect the erection if these injuries occurred in the penis. Finally, with type 2 diabetes, testosterone levels often drop, which is associated with the developing insulin resistance of tissues. And the sex drive in men directly depends on testosterone...
But problems with the heart and blood vessels occur not only with diabetes. For example, a relatively recent study by Australian scientists showed that men with impotence are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke. In this work, the age group of 20 and older was considered, since, according to some, impotence in general is more likely to indicate cardiovascular problems in the young than in the elderly. As for the elderly, the first signs of erectile dysfunction in men over 55 years old in one case out of fifty lead to a severe heart attack or stroke within a year, and in the next five years the probability of this event increases fivefold.
On the other hand, if a man has impotence added to diabetes, then he is more at risk of having a heart attack than an individual with diabetes, but without erection problems. In general, impotence increases the likelihood of a heart attack by the same amount as smoking or, for example, a long family "tradition" of cardiovascular diseases.
That is, problems with erection may be the first sign of impending cardiovascular ill health. If you think about it, there is nothing surprising in this: an erection depends on the blood flow to the penis, that is, on the state of the vessels in it. These vessels are quite small, and because of this, they may be the first to feel that, for example, something is wrong with blood pressure. Of course, there are small vessels in other parts of the body, but only in the penis is their work so specific and obvious that the inefficiency of its performance can be detected immediately.
In general, the penis is able to tell a lot not only about sexual life, but also about metabolism, blood vessels, heart, lifestyle, etc. And it would be good for men to take this into account and not be shy about frank conversations "about the patient", at least at a doctor's appointment.
But the latter, alas, is hard: for many it is easier to die than to "cover yourself with the indelible shame of intimate problems." Well, after death, as they say, it will not rust.
Prepared based on the materials of The Conversation: Erectile dysfunction may be more than just a problem in bed.
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