Erectile dysfunction: A sign of heart disease?

Heart health and erectile function share several important connections. Understanding these connections may help you recognize the symptoms of cardiovascular disease sooner — and improve your chances of maintaining your sexual ability.

Atherosclerosis. This damaging process, which reduces blood flow to your heart and contributes to coronary artery disease, could also affect the blood vessels to the penis, keeping you from sustaining an erection. Conversely, if you're having trouble with erections, it could be a sign that your heart is also at risk.

Medications. Some prescriptions that men take to protect their hearts can cause erectile dysfunction. Additionally, medications that are often prescribed for erectile dysfunction may not be safe when combined with certain heart medications.

Anxiety and depression. Erectile dysfunction itself can be a significant source of anxiety for men. Add to that a fear that sexual activity could cause a heart attack, and your love life could take a plunge. Depression frequently affects men with heart disease. Both the condition itself and some of the medications used to treat it can lead to erectile dysfunction.

Atherosclerosis: Where erectile dysfunction and heart disease meet

If atherosclerosis has made your coronary arteries narrow and stiff, that means arteries elsewhere in your body are probably also affected. Atherosclerosis can prevent enough blood flow from reaching your heart, legs, brain and penis. When atherosclerosis affects blood flow to your penis, the blood can't sufficiently fill the penis to allow a suitable erection.

In one study, 64 percent of men who'd had heart attacks had erectile dysfunction before they knew they had cardiovascular disease. Some experts suggest that if you haven't been diagnosed with heart problems, consider erectile dysfunction a wake up call. It could be a warning sign that the blood vessels feeding your heart might also be in trouble.

The same factors that raise your risk of atherosclerosis in the arteries in your penis also increase your chances of coronary artery disease. Because the arteries supplying your penis are smaller than the ones to your heart, symptoms may first show up as erectile dysfunction.

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and can contribute to erectile dysfunction include:

Diabetes. Men who have diabetes have more problems getting an erection than do men who don't have diabetes. The problem is partially due to the diabetes-related damage to blood vessels that supply the penis.

Obesity. Overweight men are more likely to have erectile dysfunction.

High cholesterol. A high level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis in blood vessels, raising the risk of erectile dysfunction.

Smoking. Smoking cigarettes raises your risk of developing atherosclerosis. Not only does smoking increase your chances of heart disease, but it can make you nearly twice as likely to develop erectile dysfunction.

High blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure damages the lining of your arteries and accelerates the process of atherosclerosis — which can lead to cardiovascular disease and erectile dysfunction. [CLICK HER FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE]