it was likely to affect the penile arteries before the larger arteries

More evidence of the link between heart disease and erectile dysfunction has been released by researchers from the world famous Mayo Clinic. The report which was made public in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings has delved deeply into the subject and concluded that men suffering from coronary artery disease and erectile dysfunction may in fact be suffering from “differing manifestations” of the same “underlying vascular pathology”.

Dr Ajay Nehra, a professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic and who co-authored the study explained that when erectile dysfunction is diagnosed in younger men it is accompanied by a considerably higher risk of future heart problems, whereas when men suffer from erectile dysfunction when they are older the likelihood of them having heart problems is considerably less.

For example men who suffer from erectile dysfunction between the age of 40 and 49 have twice the risk of developing coronary artery problems when compared to those men who have good erectile function during this time. The other interesting statistic that came from this research was that no matter what age the subject was, his chance of suffering from heart disease was 80 percent greater if he also suffered from erectile dysfunction. The researchers also said that if you were a man who suffered from erectile dysfunction you would be an “ideal candidate” to be checked for cardiovascular disease.

One of the other conclusions which this report came out with was that blood vessel size could explain the link between erectile problems and cardio and arterial diseases. They noted that the penile arteries tended to be in the region of 1-2mm in diameter whereas coronary arteries were between 3-4 mm in diameter and carotid arteries even larger at 5-7mm wide. From this information they said there it was likely therefore if atherosclerotic plaque was building up in arteries it was likely to affect the penile arteries before the larger arteries in the same way that a smaller pipe would get blocked up with residue before a larger one. 

Almost two and a half thousand men between the ages of 40 and 79 took part in this study which again highlights the importance of healthy living in order to maintain healthy erectile dysfunction well into old age. Healthy living over the long term is a far more effective way of keep erectile dysfunction at bay than the drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.