Only 10 percent of men seek treatment and many (50 percent) discontinue treatment once they start it because they are too embarrassed to discuss their sexual health issues with a doctor. There is no need to suffer in silence.
Sexual arousal is complex! It involves our brains, hormones, emotions, nerves, muscles, and blood vessels. Erectile dysfunction may be triggered by physical or psychological issues or stressful situations.
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The physical examination will confirm the information you gave the doctor in your medical history and may help reveal unsuspected disorders, such as diabetes, vascular disease, penile plaques (scar tissue or firm lumps under the skin of the penis), testicular problems, low male hormone production, injury or disease to the nerves of the penis, and various prostate disorders.
Sildenafil has been on the market for over 20 years and is generally well tolerated. You should not take sildenafil if you: have previously had an allergic reaction to it, have serious liver or heart problems, have recently had a heart attack or stroke, suffer from certain inherited eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa or optic neuropathy, are taking medicines for angina or high blood pressure.
A closer look at the relationship between hypertension and ED, including how certain blood pressure medications may affect your symptoms.
For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation is to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week or a combination of moderate and vigorous exercise.
Risk factors for ED and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are similar. The most cases of ED result from a vascular disturbance of the endothelium. Risk factors are such as: Diabetes Dyslipidemia Hypertension Low levels of testosterone Neurologic diseases (e.g. Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury) Nerve damage to the penis or the pelvic area Obesity Pelvic surgery Radiation therapy to the pelvic area Smoking
Dr. Chirag Bhandari promotes sex education in the urge to cultivate sexual awareness among youth and even among the blocked mindset of Indian people. Subscribe to his interactive youtube chat show, “Mans are from mars and women are from venus“, to earn some amazing facts about the sexual problem and natural treatments.
The severity of ED has been correlated with the extent of CVD. Banks et al reported that the risk of future CV events increased progressively according to ED severity.28 This was shown in both men with and without known CVD at baseline and after controlling for confounders. Solomon and colleagues found an inverse correlation between international index of erectile function (IIEF) scores and plaque burden seen on coronary angiography.29 In addition, Yaman et al demonstrated a significant correlation between ED severity on IIEF questionnaires and coronary artery calcification.30
Future treatments for erectile dysfunction focus on providing medications that are more effective, work rapidly, and have fewer, if any, side effects than currently available treatments.
To reduce your risk of erectile dysfunction, exercise and maintain a healthy weight, stop smoking, avoid alcohol and substance abuse, and keep your diabetes under control, if you have it.
Based on your physical exam as well as your medical and sexual history, your doctor may want to order certain blood or urine tests. They’ll use these to check for problems that can lead to ED, such as:
Lifestyle choices, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and obesity can impair blood circulation and lead to erectile dysfunction. Smoking, excessive drinking, and drug abuse may damage the blood vessels and reduce blood flow to the penis. Smoking makes men with atherosclerosis even more vulnerable to erectile dysfunction. Smokers have almost twice the risk of erectile dysfunction compared with nonsmokers. Being overweight and getting too little exercise also contribute to erectile dysfunction. Men who exercise regularly have a lower risk of erectile dysfunction.
Many things that men do on an ordinary day sabotage sexual performance. Once a man realizes the impact that these factors have on his ability to achieve and maintain erections, he can adapt his habits.
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Did you know that certain medical condition may be responsible for ED? Some causes of impotence are medically treatable and reversible. Learn more about what can be done about erectile dysfunction with the Impotence Quiz.
Psychogenic ED was thought to be the most common cause of ED, however, psychologic causes often coexist with physical or functional causes of ED.