Men: Think of your penis as the canary in the coal mine. It can signal health problems beyond your genitals.<\/p>\n
Men who have trouble getting and maintaining erections should see a doctor, says Culley C. Carson III, MD, distinguished professor emeritus of urology at the\u00a0UNC School of Medicine. Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is sometimes caused by serious cardiovascular issues, among other conditions. It\u2019s very important to get to the bottom of what\u2019s causing it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a good reason to get over the embarrassment and talk to your doctor. Not only has he or she heard it all before, but expressing your concern could save your life.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, here\u2019s what you should know about erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n
According to Dr. Carson, ED is defined as the inability to have and maintain an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse at least 50 percent of the time.<\/p>\n
And men who deal with it should know they\u2019re not alone; ED is very prevalent. Dr. Carson says that 50 percent of men over the age of 40 experience some amount of erectile dysfunction and that the prevalence increases with age, roughly by decade. For example, roughly 80 percent of people in their 80s have some ED.<\/p>\n
The majority of these patients have moderate to severe erectile dysfunction. About 10 percent of people with ED have severe erectile dysfunction, meaning that they are not able to attain and maintain an erection firm enough for penetration. In other words, they cannot have sexual intercourse.<\/p>\n
This correlates to about 120 million men in the United States having ED, according to Dr. Carson\u2014a pretty high number for something people don\u2019t really talk about much.<\/p>\n
But patients talk about it much more than they used to, Dr. Carson says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the days before Viagra, when ED was just called\u00a0impotence<\/em>, patients virtually never talked about it,\u201d he says. Today, people feel a bit more comfortable, but still, \u201cmany of the patients I see for erectile dysfunction are pushed to see me by their partner.\u201d<\/p>\n People should \u201ctell their doctors, absolutely\u201d if they are suffering from erectile dysfunction, because ED can be a sign of something worse, including cardiovascular disease, Dr. Carson says.<\/p>\n If Dr. Carson sees a patient in his 30s or 40s that has erectile dysfunction as a new diagnosis, he typically sends him straight to a cardiologist.<\/p>\n According to Dr. Carson, a man with a new diagnosis of erectile dysfunction is at very high risk for a stroke, a heart attack, or other kinds of a cardiac event within three to five years of the time that diagnosis occurs.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about it, it makes total sense,\u201d Dr. Carson says. That\u2019s because to have an erection, you\u2019ve got to have high blood flow through the very small blood vessels of the penis. So if cholesterol or hypertension is adversely affecting blood flow, it can produce a noticeable effect on the small blood vessels of your penis first.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why \u201cit\u2019s what we consider the canary in the coal mine,\u201d Dr. Carson says.<\/p>\n There may be lifestyle changes you can make to lower your risk of erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n Many of the patients who visit Dr. Carson for erectile dysfunction give a decoy reason to the front desk staff. They say, \u201cI\u2019m coming for my prostate\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m interested in getting a vasectomy.\u201d<\/p>\n The truth comes out in the exam room, and usually right at the end when the appointment is over. Physicians call it the \u201cdoorknob complaint\u201d because it\u2019s the issue patients blurt out when the doctor is almost out the door.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when they say, \u2018Actually, I\u2019m having erection problems: can I get some little blue pills?\u2019\u201d Dr. Carson says. He\u2019s sympathetic to patients who feel embarrassed, but it\u2019s always best to state your concerns upfront, he says.<\/p>\n In the 1970s and \u201980s, there were very few options for treating erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could send somebody to a psychological counselor. There were also some surgical options, but they were not very tolerable to the average patient,\u201d Dr. Carson says.<\/p>\n Today, there are several effective cures for erectile dysfunction. If one treatment doesn\u2019t work, another might; but you have to be willing to talk to your doctor about your options.<\/p>\nWhy a doctor\u2019s visit is necessary in the presence of ED.<\/h2>\n
Lifestyle risk factors that can contribute to erectile dysfunction.<\/h2>\n
\n
What to do if you\u2019re embarrassed to talk about it with your doctor.<\/h3>\n
Know you have options for erectile dysfunction.<\/h2>\n