Hypertension harms the sex life of men. Most hypertensives suffer from erectile dysfunction, especially when taking medication.
Medicines often have side effects. Men treated for hypertension experience this: a good number of them suffer from erection problems because of the treatment. At the congress of the European Society of Cardiology, scientists presented a study optimistic about it. According to his findings, it is possible to treat hypertension without causing erectile dysfunction.
A very common disease
Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure. The most common chronic disease in France, it is the cause of cardiovascular or neurodegenerative complications, such as stroke or Alzheimer’s disease. To treat it, patients must adopt a healthy lifestyle, by quitting smoking, reducing their alcohol consumption, playing sports, etc. Most of them need treatment to fight the disease, but that is not followed by half of the people. Researchers believe that sexual disorders are one of the causes of this interruption.
Differences in blood pressure level
For this study, 356 men were analyzed. Among them, 46% were undergoing treatment for hypertension, but all suffered from erectile dysfunction. All the participants performed a Doppler to examine the state of their penile blood vessels and analyze their erectile dysfunction. Researchers found that in people not treated for hypertension, the higher the blood pressure, the lower the blood flow to the penis. In the group of men taking treatment, this flow was similar regardless of blood pressure level.
Necessary exchanges between patient and caregiver
According to the researchers, the benefit of treatment depends on the severity of the hypertension. “Hypertensive patients already have structural damage to the penile arteries, adding anti-hypertension drugs does not further reduce blood flow to the penisexplains one of the authors of the study, Professor Vlachopoulos. But for men with normal or slightly elevated blood prison, the penile arteries have little damage, and medications can have a negative effect on blood flow in the penis..” For him, it is essential that men with hypertension discuss this with their doctor. “Our study shows that hypertension can be treated without causing erectile dysfunction, he recalls. Patients and their doctors need to talk it over together to find the best possible treatment.”
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