London, Oct 23: Erectile dysfunction may hold
early clue of a heart attack, warns an expert, who expressed
concern that the risk was being ignored by doctors
uncomfortable with the word `erection`.
The warning by Geoffrey Hackett on the British Medical
Journal website suggested that erectile dysfunction gives a
two to three year early clue of a heart attack.
However, the link between erectile dysfunction and the
risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes
Hackett from the Birmingham-based Good Hope Hospital in the
UK.
Despite considerable evidence, erectile dysfunction is
still treated as a recreational or "lifestyle issue" rather
than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
"Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that
cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word
`erection` to their patients or that they may have to deal
with the management of a positive response, is no longer
acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically
negligent," Hackett stressed.
Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred
with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear
that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three
years beforea warning sign ignored by their general
practitioners.
It is well-known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom
of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk
of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker
or having an immediate family history of heart disease, the
Science Daily online reported.
According to the report, erectile dysfunction in type
2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk
of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
Bureau Report
