Ed early sign of heart disease in diabetics?
Erectile dysfunction (ED) may indicate a higher risk of heart disease in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
The study showed men with type 2 diabetes mellitus who also suffered erectile dysfunction were more likely to develop heart disease, suffer a stroke, or die prematurely, compared with those who did not have the condition.
Ed is a male sexual dysfunction with which a man could not maintain an erection during sexual intercourse.
Early studies have established an association between ED and elevated risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the background information in the report by G. David Batty, Ph.D, of the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, Scotland and colleagues.
For the current study, the researchers determined the relationship between ED and heart conditions such as heart attack, stroke and death from all causes in more than 6,000 men aged 55 to 88 with type 2 diabetes mellitus, who were followed for five years.
After adjusting for other confounders, the researchers found men with erectile dysfunction at baseline were at higher risk of heart disease or stroke than other men during the study.
Specifically, they found men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and ED were 19 percent more likely to have a heart attack or myocardial infarction or other major complications of atherosclerosis.
These men were also 35 percent and 36 percent more likely to develop heart disease and suffer a stroke, respectively, compared to those who did not have ED.
A health observer suggested that it is not adequate to compare a man aged 55 and a man aged 88 for their sexual activity. He said at a certain point in time, a man should be expected to stop having sex. A diagnosis of ED in those men is not justified, he commented.
For younger men, their inability to maintain an erection can be pathological. Although anti-ed drug like Viagra and Cialis can be very effective, certain foods may help as well.
According to some observations, garlic, oily fish like salmon fish, vitamin C, peanuts or arginine supplements among other things can help produce semen quickly and help maintain an erection and boost libido for men.