Failing erections may be a harbinger of heart disease in some men, according to a review of a number of studies — but heart-healthy lifestyle changes or cholesterol-lowering drugs could have a positive impact on men’s sexual health.
Scientists have long known about the link between impotence, or erectile dysfunction, and heart health. Although there is no proof so far, a common theory is that arteries supplying the penis with blood during erections may clog up earlier than those in the heart, which are larger, thus providing an early warning of possible later coronary artery disease.
To address the connection between the two, Dong Jiayi of Soochow University in Suzhou, China, and colleagues combined 12 earlier studies of impotence and heart disease, covering about 37,000 men.
“This meta-analysis ... suggests that erectile dysfunction significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality, and the increase is probably independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors,” they wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
They found that men with erectile problems had a 48 percent increase in their risk of developing heart disease and also had higher death rates than men who didn’t have sexual problems.
Traditional risk factors such as smoking, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure didn’t explain the link, strengthening the case that impotence, when it isn’t due to partnership problems or other psychological issues, is a risk factor for heart disease in its own right.
However, another study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that both lifestyle changes and cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins appeared to improve men’s erectile problems — but only a little.
Men who exercise more or were put on a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grain, fruits, vegetables, nuts and olive oil, for instance, reported a 2.4 point improvement on a 25-point scale of erectile problems.
Those put on statins saw a similar improvement of 3.1 points, Bhanu Gupta and colleagues said at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The results were based on six trials with 740 participants.
“The results of our study further strengthen the evidence that lifestyle modification and pharmacotherapy for cardiovascular risk factors are effective in improving sexual function in men with erectile dysfunction,” they wrote.
They added that lifestyle changes appeared to work regardless of whether the men were taking Viagra, the most common drug to treat impotence, or not.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
RSS