Chapter 4: Facts about Erectile Dysfunction
How Vascular Diseases Affect Erectile Dysfunction
Vascular diseases are medical conditions that can affect blood flow to all of the organs in the body by affecting various blood vessels. They can cause a restriction of the blood flowing to the brain, heart and other vital organs including the penis. Over half of men with vascular diseases develop erectile dysfunction.
When a vascular disease starts restricting blood flow; it is caused by an accumulation of cholesterol in the blood stream that starts blocking the blood from flowing freely. Even if you have a vascular disease: you can limit its effect on your ED with proper medications and changes to your eating and exercise habits.
Vascular diseases can cause the following conditions:
- Diabetes
- Clogged Arteries
- Obesity
- High Cholesterol
- High Blood Pressure
- Venous Leak:Blood flow into the penis is needed to achieve an erection. Restricted blood flow out of the penis is what sustains it. Venous Leak is a condition that causes the veins to open up too early and allow blood to flow out of the penis too rapidly. Certain injuries as well as certain diseases can cause this condition to arise. Vascular diseases are just one of the causes. Diabetes, Peyronie’s disease, and some nerve conditions can cause it to occur as well. Mental conditions that are allowed to become severe like anxiety have also been known to cause venous leak.
Prevention
If you are an older man or have a condition that might contribute to erectile dysfunction; there are certain steps you can take to prevent it or at least minimize it. Here are a few ways you can lessen your risk of getting ED.
- Get plenty of exercise (you can avoid many problems by doing this)
- Avoid excessive weight loss or gain
- Avoid smoking cigarettes
- Drink alcohol in moderation (no binge drinking)
- Do not use street drugs
- If you take medication for other conditions; be aware of what is in them and follow all instructions precisely.
If you learn that you have a condition that contributes to ED; be sure to follow your doctor’s instructions precisely as well. This will help prevent your condition from causing any erection problems.
Treatments and Medications
It was not that long ago that many of the treatments for ED were dangerous and uncomfortable. Some of those treatments were surgical implants and penis pumps that often led to infections and other complications..
Once erection pills hit the market; most of the other medical treatments became obsolete. Patients were now able to use oral medication to have a long, strong erection no matter what was complicating their blood flow.
There are now five erection medications that have been approved by the FDA. The five medications are Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn and Stendra. The three original and most popular medications are Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. They have been reported to have about a 75% success rate in helping men with erection problems achieve and sustain an erection. Men who suffer from diabetes have a slightly lower success rate at a little over half.
All three of these medications use nitric oxide to achieve the desired effect. This acts as a muscle relaxer so the muscles around the penis will not restrict blood flow. The medication does not directly make you get an erection. You still need to be sexually aroused.
Viagra and Levitra both need an hour to take effect. Once you achieve an erection; it will last about four hours. The erection you achieve when taking Cialis takes about half the time to achieve and can last as long as 36 hours. Viagra was the first ED drug to be approved by the FDA. Before that; the only drugs allowed in the treatment of ED were penis injections or suppositories.
Viagra was approved in 1998 and sold 92% of all ED medication sold worldwide. By 2007, Levitra and Cialis, along with other factors, cut that number to 50%. ED medications are now a multi-billion dollar worldwide business.