By Jeffrey McManus, MD, California Medical Director for Humana
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common reason for men to visit the doctor, affecting millions every year. While ED alone is no cause for alarm, it can be an early sign of other, more serious, health conditions including cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) and peripheral artery disease.
A brief anatomy lesson will show you that ED is often (or most commonly) a vascular, or blood flow, issue. When a man has ED, he may have other vascular issues throughout his body, the most common being peripheral artery disease, or PAD.
Peripheral artery disease occurs when blood flow is obstructed to your limbs. This happens when fatty deposits, or plaques, build up on the walls of your arteries. Over time, arteries start to harden and narrow limiting circulation and blood supply throughout your entire body.
Many people with PAD may experience no or mild symptoms until the disease has significantly progressed. Aside from complications like ED, you may experience symptoms like pain when walking, leg numbness, and sores on your feet and legs that do not heal. More serious complications include stroke and heart attack, which is why early detection and treatment is so important.
Initial screening is noninvasive – comparing the blood pressure of your ankle and arm – and takes less than five minutes. If the test signals a problem, more evaluations may be needed to identify where your arteries are clogged.
While you can’t cure PAD, it is a very manageable condition when detected early, treated mostly with lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet, adding in exercise and not smoking. Your physician may also recommend an appropriate medication if needed.
If you have ED with no symptoms of heart or other blood vessel disease, you should also be screened for heart disease before getting treated for ED as there are potential risks associated with sexual activity in patients with heart disease. If you are found to be at high risk for heart disease, your doctor will recommend next steps for treatment and further evaluation.
While millions of men visit their doctor for ED, so many more go unseen. At Humana, we are proactively identifying Medicare Advantage members who suffer from ED to get screened for PAD and other health issues.
Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing common symptoms or if you have other risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or are a smoker. And the next time you or someone in your life talks about experiencing ED, don’t overlook the potential, more serious issues.
Jeffrey McManus, MD, is California Medical Director for Humana. He lives in Ojai, California.
