Common grounds for erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease.
OBJECTIVE
Evidence is accumulating to consider erectile dysfunction as a vascular problem. This review focuses on background, pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical evidence of the link between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease.


RESULTS
The link between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease is suggested by the following. (1) Common risk factors for atherosclerosis are frequently found in erectile dysfunction. (2) Erectile dysfunction is frequently found in vascular syndromes such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease and diabetes. (3) A similar pathogenic involvement of the NO pathway leading to impairment of endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and late structural vascular abnormalities is shared by erectile dysfunction and vascular disorders. Given this background, the "artery-size hypothesis" is a recently proposed pathophysiological mechanism to explain the link between sexual dysfunction and myocardial ischemia.


CONCLUSIONS
Erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease appear to be linked tightly each other.
Montorsi
Piero
P
Institute of Cardiology, University of Milan, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Via Parea 4, 20138 Milan, Italy. piero.montors@unimi.it
Ravagnani
Paolo M
PM
Galli
Stefano
S
Rotatori
Francesco
F
Briganti
Alberto
A
Salonia
Andrea
A
Dehò
Federico
F
Montorsi
Francesco
F
D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D018783:Impotence, Vasculogenic / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male