Effective ED Treatment. Private. Convenient. Trusted.
Doctor-prescribed ED medication delivered discreetly to your door.
Physicians
Private
Delivery
ED3 Max Dissolvable ED Pills
Long-lasting results up to 36 hours.
- Up to 36 Hour Window
- Improved Confidence
- Works When You Need It
Sildenafil 25mg
Proven effective treatment.
- Starts Working in 30–60 Min
- Effective, As Needed
- Trusted & Reliable
ED4 Chew Gum
Low daily dose for continuous readiness.
- Taken Once Daily
- Continuous Readiness
- Improves Confidence
The American Heart Association’s recent statement linking early-stage vascular disease with an increased likelihood of developing erection problems is yet another reminder of how closely impotence and cardiovascular disease are linked.
Although no man is likely to wish upon himself either erection problems or a heart attack or stroke, it’s seems a fairly sure bet that almost all would rather experience some difficulty getting an erection than to suffer a full-blown heart attack.
Fortunately Nature has designed men’s bodies in such a way that problems of impotence are almost certain to show up well in advance of serious cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, stroke, or peripheral artery disease. Thus, erection problems become an early-warning system that all is not well with our vascular health, giving us some time to try to head off more serious problems.
Blood Flow Is Key
All of these problems have to do with the level of blood flow that is going to the organs most directly involved. If arteries feeding the brain or heart become sufficiently clogged as to constitute a blockage, a stroke or heart attack is almost certain to occur. Likewise if your lower legs and feet are not getting an adequate supply of oxygen-rich blood to supply their needs, acute pain in the affected limbs may follow.
When your penis isn’t getting enough blood to support an erection, impotence is the result. However, because the arteries supplying the penis are miniscule compared with those that feed the heart, brain, and lower limbs, you’re far more likely to have erection problems well before you begin to experience trouble elsewhere in your circulatory system.
An Important Reminder
So while the AHA’s most recent statement about the linkage between erection problems and declining vascular health isn’t really new, it’s a reminder that bears repeating as often as possible in the hope that it will encourage men to take action to head off a serious cardiovascular incident.
Count yourself lucky if you get — and recognize — such an early-warning signal because taking quick remedial action can help to prevent a more serious health event from ever taking place.
Putting it more bluntly, New York internist Steven Lamm, M.D., author of ¨The Hardness Factor,¨ told WebMD that he believes the best measure of his overall health is his erect penis. In his book, Dr. Lamm argues that the quality of a man’s erection is a direct reflection of his overall health.
Protecting Erectile Function
If the promise of a longer and healthier life isn’t enough to convince men to take better care of themselves, Dr. Lamm hopes that perhaps getting better erections might serve as sufficient incentive to improve their health. ¨It’s still the greatest hook to get men to make some real changes,¨ says Dr. Lamm.
The most recent pronouncement from the AHA on the link between vascular disease and erection problems came in the form of research presentations at the organization’s Scientific Sessions held in Chicago in November 2014.
Echoing what Dr. Lamm and many before him have said, David I. Feldman, lead author of the research study, told conference attendees that ¨erectile function can be a window into men’s cardiovascular and overall health.¨ Feldman, research assistant at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease at Johns Hopkins, explained that his research study group was made up of 1,862 men without existing heart disease.
According to Feldman, researchers assessed the link between early atherosclerotic plaque development and arterial stiffness and dysfunction with the study subjects’ subsequent self-reporting of erection problems.
Link Well Recognized
While the link between cardiovascular disease and impotence is well recognized, Feldman said researchers were trying to identify ¨which measurement of early vascular disease was the best predictor for erectile dysfunction. We also looked at whether those men with multiple abnormalities, such as increased plaque in addition to arterial stiffness and dysfunction, were more likely to also suffer from erectile dysfunction.¨
Feldman summarized the study’s findings as follows:
- Men with elevated levels of calcium in their coronary arteries were 43 percent more likely to later self-report erection problems than men whose calcium levels were normal. Calcium in the coronary artery usually manifests itself as calcified plaque deposits on the lining of the artery’s walls.
- Men who later experienced erection problems were at least two times more likely to have had elevated coronary artery calcium levels at the outset of the study, which ran for nine years.
- While calcium levels in the coronary artery had the strongest association to erection problems, other indicators of early vascular disease were generally worse among men with erection problems that in those who had no such problems. Feldman singled out in particular the amount of plaque buildup in the carotid arteries supplying the head, neck, and brain.
- Men who were diagnosed with both atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness and dysfunction were found to be 53 percent more likely to later self-report erection problems.
How to Fight Back
For men facing an increased risk of both erection problems and cardiovascular disease, Feldman recommended adopting a heart-healthy diet, committing to a regular exercise regimen, and quitting smoking.
Because the presence of erection problems is a fairly reliable predictor of more serious vascular complications down the road, Feldman said that current guidelines call for exercise stress testing and an ankle-brachial index test for risk assessment in patients with ED.
However, said Feldman, the recent study’s findings suggest that ¨a more powerful indicator is direct measurement of coronary plaque through the use of a coronary artery calcium test.”
More Research Needed
Before medical professionals opt for coronary artery calcium tests over other noninvasive methods to assess men’s sexual health, Feldman said much more research must be done. And he also called for more extensive studies into methods that can be used to prevent erection problems in men with asymptomatic vascular disease.
Fortunately for men who are experiencing varying degrees of erection problems, help is available in the form of such popular impotence medications as Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. These drugs all belong to a class of medications known collectively as PDE5 inhibitors, so-called because they work by temporarily blocking the effects of the phosphodiesterase-5 enzyme that can compromise blood flow to the penis.
If, however, men with symptoms of impotence don’t take steps to address the underlying vascular problems that cause their erection problems, they may eventually develop full-blown cardiovascular disease. And for the more advanced forms of CVD, there really are no easy fixes.
Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of nutrition and health-related topics.
We specialize in providing our over 1,000,000 customers with relevant product and condition information created by our professional editorial staff which includes our team of medical writers, medical practitioners, and health educators. eDrugStore.com Staff on Facebook