Περίληψη:
Sexual health has a fundamental role in overall health and well-being,
and a healthy and dynamic sex life can make an important contribution to
a good quality of life. Sexual dysfunction, and especially erectile
dysfunction (ED) in men, is highly prevalent in patients with
cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD and ED have shared risk factors and
pathophysiological links, such as endothelial dysfunction, inflammation
and low plasma testosterone levels. ED has been shown to be an
independent and early harbinger of future CVD events, providing an
important window to initiate preventive measures. Therefore, screening
and diagnosing ED is essential for the primary and secondary prevention
of CVD because the assessment of ED offers an easy and low-cost
prognostic tool that is an alternative to other investigational
cardiovascular biomarkers. Moreover, ED is a major contributing factor
to the discontinuation of, or poor adherence to, cardiovascular therapy.
Cardiovascular drugs have divergent effects on erectile function, with
diuretics and beta-blockers having the worst profiles, and
renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors and nebivolol having the
best profiles. Pharmacological treatment of ED has an equivocal effect
on the risk of CVD, suggesting a complex interaction between ED and
drugs for CVD. In this Review, we discuss how sexual function could be
incorporated into the patient history taken by physicians treating
individuals with CVD, not merely as part of the diagnostic work-up but
as a means to pursue tangible and essential benefits in quality of life
and cardiovascular outcomes.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and erectile dysfunction (ED) have shared
risk factors and mechanisms. Moreover, ED is an independent predictor of
CVD events and is an adverse effect of some cardiovascular drugs. This
Review discusses how sexual function should be considered when treating
patients with CVD to improve quality of life and cardiovascular
outcomes.
Συγγραφείς:
Terentes-Printzios, Dimitrios
Ioakeimidis, Nikolaos
Rokkas,
Konstantinos
Vlachopoulos, Charalambos
