Impotence Predicts Heart Disease

A new JAMA study adds more evidence that erectile dysfunction is a sign of artery disease. As part of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, conducted at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 4247 men, aged 55 years and older, were evaluated over a five-year period. Those with erectile dysfunction at the beginning of the study or who developed it during the study had a 45 percent increased risk of a subsequent cardiovascular event, compared to other men.

Prior studies have shown that impotence is often a sign of blocked arteries. Nearly 20 years ago, researchers reported that older men with reduced genital blood flow had a substantially higher risk of heart attack or stroke, compared with other men.