TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- The lifestyle changes and
medications used to reduce risk factors for heart disease may also
improve sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction, according
to a new study.
Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., analyzed
six previous studies from four countries involving 740 men to
determine how lifestyle changes and drugs used to treat risk
factors for heart disease affected the severity of their erectile
dysfunction (ED).
Each study reviewed reported improvements in men's erectile
dysfunction as a result of lifestyle changes and better blood lipid
levels. Heart disease and ED share certain controllable risk
factors, such as high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and lack of
physical activity, the researchers explained.
Moreover, erectile dysfunction appears to be an indicator of
heart disease, the researchers said. "Men with ED provide an
opportunity to identify CV risk factors and initiate lifestyle
changes," the authors wrote.
The study, published online Sept. 12 in
Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that when cardiac risk factors improved, so did sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction. When either drugs or lifestyle changes to combat heart disease were considered alone, the benefits to the men's sexual function was still significant, the researchers noted in a journal news release.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides
more information on
heart disease risk factors.