Although erectile dysfunction or impotency in itself is not a life threatening disease, it can be a harbinger of many other dangerous diseases which could be potentially fatal. So if you are suffering from any form of erectile dysfunction, it is about time you get a full medical checkup.
When treating impotent patients, doctors first and foremost concern is about heart diseases. "Any form of cardiovascular disease is more likely to occur in men who have erectile dysfunction," said Dr Ira Sharlip, a past president of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America.
Strong and hard erections depend largely on healthy blood flow to the penis. Therefore any diseases that affect the blood vessels such as atherosclerosis and high blood pressure can cause abnormal blood flow to the penis and this may be the cause of your erectile dysfunction.
A highly significant research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2005 tracked a group of men for over 9 years and showed the strong association between erectile dysfunction and the subsequent appearance of coronary heart disease.
Men who suffered from impotency were found to have a higher incidence of heart attacks and strokes. The study was also able to show that these men will develop cardiac symptoms three to four years later.
Further to healthy blood circulation, testosterone, commonly regarded as the male hormone is also important for erections and for sex drive. So if you have impotency problems or low libido, you may also be suffering from low testosterone levels.
Other than aging, low levels of testosterone can be caused by problems with the pituitary gland, which regulates the production of this hormone, thyroid disorder, liver problems and even abnormalities of the testicles. So if you are unable to have healthy erections, it may be because something else is hampering your testosterone production.
Healthy erections depend on signals from the brain that say when to get it up and when to go limp. So if you are unable to get an erection, it can also be caused by the nerves carrying signals from the brain to the penis not performing its job as a messenger.
Impotency can also be a sign that you are suffering from diabetes. Many a times, men first visit the doctor for viagra prescription pills and found out that they are diabetic. The same elevated blood sugar levels that cause blood vessel and nerve damage in a diabetic can also lead to complications in blood flow and nerve damage to the penis causing erectile dysfunction.
Furthermore, heart diseases and diabetes are often linked together because coronary artery damage is a complication of diabetic patients as well. Although coronary artery diseases (CAD) can affect your erection on its own, but impotency is nine times more likely in men who suffer from both CAD and diabetes, than men who have diabetes without suffering from CAD. Therefore if you are suffering from impotency, you should be screened for both CAD and diabetes.
So if you are suffering from erectile dysfunction, don't you think it is about time to take a trip to your doctor's office to rule out other dangerous diseases?
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.massagebyben.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites 