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Erectile Dysfunction Seen in Men With Prehypertension

By Ed Susman

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- May 19, 2005 -- Researchers have found that a high percentage of men with hypertension also suffer from erectile dysfunction. The findings were reported here May 16^th at the 20th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hypertension.

"Interestingly, erectile dysfunction was frequent even in subjects with high normal blood pressure, now included in the term 'prehypertension,' suggesting that we must pay special attention to this population," said Michael Doumas, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Athens, Greece.

"We wanted to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure levels and erectile dysfunction in young and middle-aged normotensive and hypertensive men," he explained. The investigators examined 634 young and middle-aged men and evaluated them for hypertension.

The men then filled out a questionnaire that evaluated erectile dysfunction, according to the International Index of Erectile Function. "The questionnaire is widely used and is considered an accurate test for defining sexual dysfunction," said Dr. Doumas. "Using the IIEF's 'inform-the-probe' technique of questioning, we were able to clearly demonstrate a strong link between high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction."

Overall, 35.2% of the 358 hypertensive patients had some sort of erectile dysfunction, and 9.2% of them had severe erectile dysfunction. Of the 276 normotensive patients, 14.1% had signs of erectile dysfunction, and 1.5% had erectile dysfunction. The difference between the groups reached statistical significance at the P < .001 level for both the prevalence of erectile dysfunction and for its severity, Dr. Doumas reported.

"Our research determined that, for men with high blood pressure, the chances that they may be at risk for or have erectile dysfunction dramatically increase," he said.


[Presentation title: Erectile Dysfunction is Related to Systolic Blood Pressure Even in the Normal Blood Pressure Levels.]

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