"Survival of the Firmest"
Erectile dysfunction is defined as the recurrent or persistent
inability to attain and/or maintain an erection
in order for satisfactory sexual performance.
It is present in up to 30 million men in the U.S.
and approximately 100 million men worldwide.
Wait a second!
The U.S. has less than 8% of the world's population,
yet up to 30% of the impotence?
We're number 1! ....
Who cares, though?
We've got red, white, and blue pills like Viagra.
The problem though is the pills just cover up
the symptoms of vascular disease,
and don't do anything for the underlying pathology.
Erectile Dysfunction and our #1 killer, Coronary Artery Disease,
are just two manifestations of the same disease,
inflamed, clogged, and crippled arteries,
regardless of which organ.
Atherosclerosis is considered a systemic disorder
that uniformly affects all major blood vessels in the body.
Hardening of the arteries can lead
to softening of the penis
because stiffened arteries can't relax normally,
open wide, and let the blood flow.
So, erectile dysfunction may just be the flaccid tip
of an iceberg in terms of a systemic disorder.
In 2/3 of men showing up to emergency rooms
for the first time with crushing chest pain,
their penis had been trying to warn them for years
that something was wrong with their circulation.
Why does it tend to hit the penis first?
Because the penile arteries in the penis
are half the size of the coronary arteries in our heart—
that particular arteries, the so-called widow-maker.
So the same amount of plaque in the heart,
that you wouldn't even feel,
could half clog the penile artery
causing a symptomatic restriction in blood flow.
You may not feel chest pain until about here.
That's why erectile dysfunction has been called "penile angina".
In fact, by measuring blood flow in a man's penis
you can predict the results of his cardiac stress test
with an accuracy of 80%.
Male sexual function is like a penile stress test,
a "window" to the hearts of man.
40% of men over 40 have erectile dysfunction.
40 over 40.
Men getting erection difficulties in their 40s
have a 50 fold increased risk of having a cardiac event
like sudden death.
You've heard me say various things increase heart disease risk 20%, 30%.
That's nearly 5000%,
leading the latest review to ask
"Is there any risk greater?"
That's because its not so much a risk factor for atherosclerosis,
it IS atherosclerosis.
A man with erectile dysfunction
(even if he has no cardiac symptoms)
should be considered a cardiac patient until proven otherwise.
It's considered to be a cardiac equivalent;
it's a marker of the coronary artery disease you likely already have.
There is therefore more to treating erectile disfunction
than just establishing an erect penis;
it offers an opportunity for reducing cardiovascular risk.
The reason that even young men should care about their cholesterol
is because it predicts erectile dysfunction later in life,
and that predicts heart attacks, strokes, and a shortened lifespan.
Just gonna keep eating crap because you can pop some pills?
All the Viagra in the world may not help
your sex life after a stroke.
The take home message is a simple equation:
ED stands for early death!