title: Erectile dysfunction after myocardial infarction--myth or a real problem?
abstract: Erectile dysfunction is a common problem whose relation to cardiovascular diseases has scientifically been proved, but it has not been studied sufficiently in patients recovering from myocardial infarction. The objective of this study was to establish the frequency of erectile dysfunction in patients recovering from myocardial infarction. We examined 89 patients (aged 30 to 75 years) included in the program of cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction. The results were compared with 91 healthy examinees of the same age. Even 82% of the patients who recovered from myocardial infarction have problems with erectile dysfunction, compared to 42.9% of healthy examinees. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction increases with the age in both groups. In the group of patients recovering from myocardial infarction aged 30 do 39 years, the erectile dysfunction decreased after 6 months, while in other age subgroups and between controls, there were no significant changes in erectile dysfunction prevalence during the analysed time period. We concluded that erectile dysfunction is a significant problem in patients recovering from myocardial infarction. It should be recognized on time in order to provide a better life quality for the patient with a multidisciplinary approach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Thalassotherapia, Opatija, Croatia.
authors.forename: Alen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruzić
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Persić
authors.forename: Bojan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Miletić
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vcev
authors.forename: Jure
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mirat
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Soldo
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Batinac
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kovac
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology