Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation;  Heart Disease;  Men’s Health
Article Date: 03 Sep 2012 – 0:00 PDT

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Assessment of sexual function should be incorporated into cardiovascular risk evaluation for all men, regardless of the presence or absence of known cardiovascular disease, according to Dr. Ajay Nehra, lead author of a report by the Princeton Consensus (Expert Panel) Conference, a collaboration of 22 international, multispecialty researchers. Nehra is vice chairperson, professor and director of Men’s Health in the Department of Urology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a red flag in younger men, less than 55 years of age for future cardiac morbidity or mortality – death or disease – for cardiovascular disease (CVD). In some patients, the time window between onset of ED and a cardiovascular event may be two to five years.

“Any man with ED should be considered at a substantially higher increase cardiovascular risk until further testing can be done,” said Nehra. “Erectile dysfunction often occurs in the presence of silent, non-symptomatic cardiovascular disease; and hence this is an opportunity for cardiovascular risk reduction.”

The panel recommends that younger men, more than 30 years old who experience ED receive a thorough, non invasive cardiovascular disease evaluation. As the consensus panel considers all men with ED who are older than 30 to be at increased CVD risk, a thorough noninvasive and, when indicated, invasive evaluation of CVD status is recommended.

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Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation;  Heart Disease
Article Date: 30 Aug 2012 – 16:00 PDT

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According to a recent report by the Princeton Consensus (Expert Panel) Conference, men’s sexual function should be evaluated and taken into account when they are being tested for risk factors of cardiovascular problems.

Lead author of the study Dr. Ajay Nehra, vice chairperson, professor and director of Men’t Health in the Department of Urology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, worked with over 20 other experts to determine their findings.

The study explains that erectile dysfunction (ED) is a risk factor in men younger than 55 for eventual cardiovascular disease. In some men diagnosed with ED, a cardiovascular event may occur within 2 to 5 years.

Nehra explains:

“Any man with ED should be considered at a substantially higher increase cardiovascular risk until further testing can be done. Erectile dysfunction often occurs in the presence of silent, symptomatic cardiovascular disease; and hence this is an opportunity for cardiovascular risk reduction.”

The researchers recommend that men over 30 who suffer from ED should be evaluated closely for cardiovascular disease, because they believe that any man over 30 who has ED has a large risk for CVD (cardiovascular disease).

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Editor’s Choice
Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation;  Transplants / Organ Donations
Article Date: 01 Aug 2012 – 12:00 PDT

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According to a multi-center study featured online in the British Journal of Urology International, California University’s San Diego School of Medicine researchers have found that patients undergoing a total nephrectomy, i.e. a complete removal of a kidney, have a higher chance of developing erectile dysfunction.

Senior author of the study, Ithaar Derweesh, MD, an associate professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and urologic surgeon at UC San Diego Health System, said: “This is the first study in medical literature to suggest that surgery for kidney removal can negatively impact erectile function while partial kidney removal can protect sexual function.”

The researchers evaluated two cohorts of men who underwent surgery for renal cell carcinoma in a retrospective study. The total number of patients involved in the study was 432. The patients were divided into those who had a complete nephrectomy and those who had kidney-preserving surgery. They assessed the patients’ sexual function before and after their surgery by using a sexual health questionnaire, known as the International Index of Erectile Function.

Derweesh said: “What we are seeing is a dramatic yet delayed effect. Approximately six years after surgery, patients who had a total nephrectomy were 3.5 times more likely to develop erectile dysfunction compared to those who had kidney reconstruction.”

Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 01 Aug 2012 – 0:00 PDT

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a link between patients who undergo total nephrectomy – complete kidney removal – and erectile dysfunction. Results from the multi-center study were recently published online in the British Journal of Urology International.

“This is the first study in medical literature to suggest that surgery for kidney removal can negatively impact erectile function while partial kidney removal can protect sexual function,” said Ithaar Derweesh, MD, senior author, associate professor of surgery, UC San Diego School of Medicine and urologic surgeon at UC San Diego Health System.

The retrospective study evaluated two cohorts of men, totaling 432 patients, who underwent surgery for renal cell carcinoma. One group underwent complete removal of the kidney while the other had kidney-sparing surgery. Sexual function was accessed pre- and post-operatively with a sexual health questionnaire known as the International Index of Erectile Function.

“What we are seeing is a dramatic yet delayed effect. Approximately six years after surgery, patients who had a total nephrectomy were 3.5 times more likely to develop erectile dysfunction compared to those who had kidney reconstruction,” said Derweesh.

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Main Category: Erectile Dysfunction / Premature Ejaculation
Also Included In: Diabetes;  Heart Disease;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 27 Jul 2012 – 1:00 PDT

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Although erectile dysfunction (ED) has been shown to be an early warning sign for heart disease, some physicians – and patients – still think of it as just as a natural part of “old age.” But now an international team of researchers, led by physicians at The Miriam Hospital, say it’s time to expand ED symptom screening to include younger and middle-aged men.

In an article appearing in the July issue of the American Heart Journal, they encourage physicians to inquire about ED symptoms in men over the age of 30 who have cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking, obesity or family history, and in all men with type 2 diabetes.

As many as 30 million American men suffer from ED, or the inability to maintain an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. ED and cardiovascular disease share a common cause: narrowing of the arteries, resulting in reduced or obstructed blood flow to the organs. They also share similar risk factors, including smoking, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. Because the penile arteries are just a fraction smaller than the arteries supplying blood to the heart, symptoms of conditions that can narrow the arteries, such as arteriosclerosis, are likely to present first in the form of erection problems. That’s why it is also believed that the more severe the ED, the greater the risk of heart disease-related events, such as heart attack and stroke.

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