Update of the position paper on arterial hypertension and erectile dysfunction

This article will focus on erectile dysfunction and its association with arterial hypertension. This update of the position paper was created by the Working Group on Sexual Dysfunction and Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension. This working group has been very active during the last years in promoting the familiarization of hypertension specialists and related physicians with erectile dysfunction, through numerous lectures in national and international meetings, a position paper, newsletters, guidelines, and a book specifically addressing erectile dysfunction in hypertensive patients. It was noted that erectile dysfunction precedes the development of coronary artery disease. The artery size hypothesis has been proposed as a potential explanation for this observation. This hypothesis seeks to explain the differing manifestation of the same vascular condition, based on the size of the vessels. Clinical presentations of the atherosclerotic and/or endothelium disease in the penile arteries might precede the corresponding manifestations from larger arteries. Treated hypertensive patients are more likely to have sexual dysfunction compared with untreated ones, suggesting a detrimental role of antihypertensive treatment on erectile function. The occurrence of erectile dysfunction seems to be related to undesirable effects of antihypertensive drugs on the penile tissue. Available information points toward divergent effects of antihypertensive drugs on erectile...
Source: Journal of Hypertension - Category: Cardiology Tags: POSITION PAPERS Source Type: research