Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Attacks [FjR7jyD109u]

Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Attacks [FjR7jyD109u]

| 1h 28m 28s | Video has closed captioning.

ED, or Erectile Dysfunction, has become a household word, ever since the drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra were approved by the FDA as a treatment, but the significance of ED as a sign of a disease more ominous is rarely discussed. It is a fact that ED is an early sign of a more serious condition—atherosclerosis-- better known as hardening of the arteries. Today we are going to talk about ED as the first physical sign of heart disease and stroke, and why the appearance of this symptom should trigger a more extensive medical evaluation than just treating you with a “blue pill”. ED is a sign and a symptom, of future coronary artery disease. It should be a normal thing for a primary care doctor to ask a patient if they smoke, or experience shortness of breath which is a sign of COPD (emphysema). It should be a routine question to ask a man if he has erections as a way to investigate his current testosterone level, as well as his future risk of heart disease and stroke. It is a fact that men with ED have 1.5-2.5 times the risk of having a heart attack and stroke in the near future. This risk is similar to a person who smokes or has diabetes. It is also a fact that ED is related to a low testosterone level. Determining which comes first, and what to do with this information is a doctor’s task.