ErectileDysfunction-and-HeartDisease

Dr. Thompson reports, "the first evidence, to our knowledge, of a strong association between erectile dysfunction and subsequent development of clinical cardiovascular events,". The researchers were doing Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial and they landed with the evidence that ED (failure of erection) is the beginning of heart disease.

A medicine Proscar (finasteride) was being evaluated for safety in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, a prospective, randomized, blinded study. 9,500 men were randomly selected for placebo study over 7 years. The men, were 55years or above.

Total Men = 9,500
85% [8063] of these had no cardiovascular disease
3816 of these had already had some level of Erectile Dysfunction.

4347 remaining men had no ED and no Cardiovascular disease.
57% developed ED 5 years later and
65% developed ED 7 years later.

Because of concerns about the effect of the study drug on sexual function, the trial researchers tracked erectile dysfunction throughout the seven-year study. Men in the study were also evaluated every three months for cardiovascular disease, as part of the study's safety monitoring.

Similar finding
The Massachusetts Male Aging Study reported in 1994 that, in a group of
men ages 40 to 70, the probability of impotence was 52% and the rate
tripled between 40 and 70, they noted.

Conclusion:
A person coming for the treatment of Erectile Dysfunction is more likely to have cardiovascular disease and preventive measures for the same need to started.

Reference:
The Massachusetts Male Aging Study reported in 1994
JAMA. 2005;294:2996-3002. Thompson IM et al.