title: Sexual dysfunction related to drugs: a critical review. Part IV: cardiovascular drugs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sexual dysfunction is a potential side effect of cardiovascular drugs: this article is a critical review of the current literature. Many studies have been published on this topic. Most of these studies are not methodologically robust, few are RCTs and most did not use a validated rating scale to evaluate sexual functioning. In addition, other methodological flaws limit greatly the conclusions of these studies. Most studies relate to male populations and only a few have been conducted on women. Also, the majority of studies on sexual dysfunction induced by cardiovascular drugs relate to antihypertensive drugs. While there is evidence to suggest that older antihypertensive drugs (diuretics, beta-blockers, centrally acting agents) have a negative impact on erectile function, newer agents seem to have either neutral (ACE inhibitors, calcium antagonists) or beneficial effects (i. e., angiotensin receptor blockers, nebivolol). Other cardiovascular drugs analyzed in this review also appear to have an inhibitory action on sexual function. For men, there is some weak evidence supporting the use of specific treatment strategies for sexual dysfunction associated with these drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted in 2014 using the paper and electronic resources of the library of the "Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS)" in Trento, Italy (http://atoz.ebsco.com/Titles/2793). The library has access to a wide range of databases including DYNAMED, MEDLINE Full Text, CINAHL Plus Full Text, The Cochrane Library, Micromedex healthcare series, BMJ Clinical Evidence. The full list of available journals can be viewed at http://atoz.ebsco.com/Titles/2793 or at the APSS web site (http://www.apss.tn.it). In completing this review, a literature search was conducted using the key words "cardiovascular", "adrenergic beta antagonist", "α1-adrenoceptor antagonist", "angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor", "angiotensin receptor antagonist", "angiotensin receptor blocker", "beta blocker", "beta receptor antagonist", "calcium channel blocker", "diuretic", "antihypertensive", "sexual dysfunction", "sexual side effects", "treatment-emergent sexual dysfunction". All resulting listed articles were reviewed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The review includes studies that investigated the relationship between these drug treatments and sexual dysfunction. The purpose was to identify possible intervention strategies for sexual dysfunction related to these drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ospedale di Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: La Torre
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, S. Maurizio Hospital, Bolzano Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giupponi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, S. Maurizio Hospital, Bolzano Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Duffy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, S. Maurizio Hospital, Bolzano Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Conca
authors.affiliation: U. O. di Cardiologia, Ospedale di Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Catanzariti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents