ORLANDO - May 25, 2002 - Erectile dysfunction is a strong indicator of future forms of ischemic heart disease, according to a study conducted by Dr. Francesco Montorsi at the University Vita - Salute, Scientific Institute H. San Raffaele in Milan. He will present his findings at the American Urological Association's Annual Scientific Meeting during a poster session on May 27, 2002, starting at 10:00 a.m.
In the study, 300 patients with sudden severe chest pain (mean age: 61 years; range: 37-83) were admitted to the heart intensive care unit and underwent a morphological and functional evaluation of the coronary arteries through a coronary angiography. The patients then completed a detailed general and sexual history questionnaire, as well as the Beck's inventory for depression and the AUA Symptom Score, among others.
The study showed a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction in ischemic heart disease patients. In addition, a significant rate of patients developed erectile dysfunction at a mean of 53.4 months prior to developing ischemic heart disease.
"The preliminary data in this report still need confirmation in a larger patient population, but the study does raise the issue of erectile dysfunction as a predictive factor for ischemic heart disease in some patients," said Montorsi. "Reasons may be related to the fact that in the vast majorities of cases, erectile dysfunction develops due to abnormalities of blood circulation: as penile blood vessels are very small and more prone to become abnormal when vascular risk factors like aging, smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol are present, impaired erections may show up much earlier than symptoms of poor circulation coming from other parts of the body such as the heart."
Erectile dysfunction patients with vascular risk factors may consider being seen by their physician for a general vascular evaluation. This study was supported by an unrestricted grant by Pfizer Italy.
Additional resources on erectile dysfunction are available from MayoClinic.com:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/erectile-dysfunction/DS00162
