Impotence

GPs are too keen to prescribe the blue pill without looking for serious heart conditions

“ There ’ s been a definite rise in erectile dysfunction , more so among the younger thirties to forties and early fifties age groups .”

Evidence over the past year shows that cardiovascular and psychological problems arising from COVID-19 have led to a rise in impotence .

According to Dr Sriram Narayanan , a consultant vascular surgeon at the Harley Street Heart and Vascular Centre , there ’ s been a noticeable increase in the number of patients visiting his clinic in Singapore , especially from a younger age group .

“ There ’ s been a definite rise in erectile dysfunction , more so among the younger thirties to forties and early fifties age groups ,” Dr Sriram told Medical Festival Asia , an online event co-conceptualised by Global Health Asia-Pacific and Messe Düsseldorf Asia that took place last December .

“ There ’ s the stress , of course – there have been a lot of job losses , people have been locked down , and the sheer stress of this whole environment with COVID . Incomes and business have been affected .

“ Then there ’ s erectile dysfunction that might have been under wraps in marital relationships . Now that both partners cannot run away anywhere , and no foreign trips to make , they are definitely sleeping in the same bed every night . So the opportunity for this to come to light has become more obvious , and it ’ s getting harder to ignore ,” he said .

While the pandemic might be exposing more cases , the condition is not that uncommon . About 40 percent of men in their 40s , 50 percent in their 50s , and 70 percent in their 70s have some degree of erectile dysfunction , according to the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study .

The flip side is that , as couples seek medical help for impotence , men ’ s heart health could benefit . While most sufferers normally head straight to a urologist for diagnosis and treatment , a visit to a cardiovascular specialists might be a better option . Finding the right consultant , however , is also important for getting the right diagnosis .

The late Dr Graham Jackson , formerly the editor emeritus of the International Journal of Clinical Practice , set out to confirm a link between erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease with his 2013 study . After reviewing the published data , he concluded with certainty that erectile dysfunction was a “ marker of a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease ” in male patients with no cardiac symptoms , especially in younger men .

“ The treatment of erectile dysfunction ,” Dr Jackson wrote , “ has a dual purpose : to restore sexual relations and to prevent subsequent cardiovascular disease events , including death .

Heart problems seem to be related to erectile dysfunction

46 APRIL 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com