Erectile dysfunction as a coronary artery disease risk equivalent.
BACKGROUND
The conditions that predispose patients to erectile dysfunction are substantially similar to the coronary artery disease risk factors, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, depression, age, and smoking. Because of these shared risks and overlapping pathophysiologic mechanisms, we designed this pilot study to address the hypothesis that the presence of coronary artery calcium, a known indicator of increased cardiac risk, is associated with erectile dysfunction.


RESULTS
A prospective registry enrolled 9150 men who underwent multidetector computed tomography. Subjects supplied baseline data regarding demographic variables, coronary risk factors, and erectile dysfunction symptoms or lack thereof. The 2 groups then underwent computed tomography to screen for the presence or absence of coronary artery calcium. Subjects with erectile dysfunction were older, had higher triglyceride levels, had higher blood pressures, and were more likely to have measurable coronary artery calcification than men without erectile dysfunction (79% vs 58%, P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Erectile dysfunction is significantly associated with abnormal coronary artery calcification and, like peripheral arterial disease, might warrant consideration as a coronary artery disease risk equivalent.
Lee
John H
JH
Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, MO, USA.
Ngengwe
Raphael
R
Jones
Philip
P
Tang
Fengming
F
O'Keefe
James H
JH
D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D014280:Triglycerides; D002118:Calcium