Coronary artery disease doesn’t just kill your erectile function. It’s also one of the top causes of death in America. Every year, hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States are attributed to coronary artery disease as one of the underlying causes.
When you have CAD, it means that the blood vessel that’s supplying blood to your heart is already damaged. The artery has become hardened and narrowed. Thus, your heart suffers and becomes weak. When your heart is weak, it can no longer pump enough blood to your penis. Here’s how coronary artery disease leads to impotence.
Erectile Dysfunction Can Predict Coronary Artery Disease
When you have arteriogenic erectile dysfunction, it means that the main reason why your penis isn’t getting hard is that it’s not getting enough blood flow. You need ample amounts of blood to flow into your penis so that it can become erect.
Since the only way for blood to flow to your penis is through your penile arteries, when your arteries are damaged or are not functioning properly, you can expect a lot of problems with your erection. That’s because both erectile dysfunction and CAD have a common factor, which is endothelial dysfunction.
According to several studies, when you’re suffering from erectile problems, you should have your heart checked because erectile dysfunction is considered an accurate predictor of coronary artery disease.
For instance, if you’re still in your 30s or 40s and you feel there’s no reason why you should be having problems getting an erection, it might be because of an undetected CAD. Experts are saying that if you already have erectile dysfunction even before you develop coronary artery disease, it’s highly likely that you will develop a severe case of CAD.
In addition, research shows that when you start experiencing erectile problems, CAD symptoms may start showing in 2-3 years. Even worse, you may experience a cardiovascular event within 3-5 years after the onset of your erectile dysfunction.
Furthermore, men aged 30-39 years old who are suffering from moderate to severe erectile dysfunction have an almost 5% risk of developing coronary artery disease within ten years. The risks increase to more than 21% for men aged 60-69 years old.
Severity of Erectile Dysfunction
As shown by the results of a 2013 study, if you have acute coronary syndrome, the severity of your erectile dysfunction will differ based on the severity of your coronary artery disease.
The researchers divided the 240 participants into four groups. Sixty men who had acute coronary syndrome with only one-vessel disease formed Group 1. The second group was comprised of 60 men who had acute coronary syndrome with 2-3 vessel diseases. Those in Group 2 had significantly more severe coronary artery disease than those in Group 1.
Sixty men who had chronic stable angina were assigned to Group 3. Group 4 was composed of men who had normal coronary arteries but were suspected to have coronary artery disease.
The results showed that the overall prevalence of erectile dysfunction was 76%. Group 1 had a significantly lower prevalence of erectile dysfunction at only 22% compared to Group 3’s 65%. At 55%, Group 2 also had a much higher erectile dysfunction prevalence rate compared to Group 1.
Chronic Versus Acute Coronary Syndrome
The researchers also found that men with chronic coronary syndrome were more likely to develop erectile dysfunction compared to men with acute coronary syndrome. The results indicate that acute coronary syndrome and chronic coronary syndrome cause erectile dysfunction in different ways.
Acute myocardial infarction is one of the most common manifestations of acute coronary syndrome, whereas chronic coronary syndrome typically manifests as effort-induced angina pectoris.
The main difference between the two medical conditions lies in the extent of the obstruction of the penile blood vessels. In chronic coronary syndrome, the penile arteries are severely obstructed.
This means that the penile arteries of men with chronic coronary syndrome transport lesser volumes of blood to the penis compared to that of men with acute coronary syndrome. This may help explain why men with chronic coronary syndrome have a higher prevalence of erectile dysfunction than men with acute coronary syndrome.
Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis
Coronary artery atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of coronary artery disease. Atherosclerosis occurs when cholesterol and plaque accumulate on the inner walls of your blood vessels. When the affected blood vessel is the one that delivers blood to your heart, then the condition is called coronary artery atherosclerosis.
Several studies have established the associated between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery atherosclerosis. Erectile dysfunction is manifested even in men with subclinical coronary artery atherosclerosis. This means that even if it doesn’t show yet that you have coronary artery atherosclerosis, you may already have erectile dysfunction.
Atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction are two of the key contributors to erectile dysfunction. The extent of your penile rigidity during erection is largely influenced by the volume of blood that flows into your penis. When you have atherosclerosis, you’ll have a lesser volume of penile blood flow.
On the one hand, when you have endothelial dysfunction, the walls of your blood vessels become stiffer. This leads to impaired vasodilation, meaning your blood vessels are no longer able to dilate properly. An endothelial dysfunction also means that the production and availability of nitric oxide are diminished.
When you’re sexually stimulated, your brain sends signals to your penile arteries to tell them to produce more nitric oxide so that your penile arteries can relax and dilate. However, when there’s not enough nitric oxide, your penile arteries won’t dilate much.
This means that there won’t be a lot of blood flowing to your penis. Either you will have a weak erection with a semi-rigid penis, or an erection may not happen at all.
Improving Your Erectile Function
One of the most widely-used natural male sex enhancement supplements available today can help you improve your erectile function. It contains natural ingredients that can help increase your penile blood flow, resulting in firmer and stronger erections.
In addition, the herbal ingredients of these supplements can also help increase your testosterone levels as well as enhance your libido. It contains Tongkat Ali, damiana, horny goat weed, Tribulus terrestris, maca, muira puama, Xanthoparmelia scabrosa, L-arginine, and Butea superba.
