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Cardio-vascular Health

Impotent, Coronary Artery Disease

Impotence and Longevity

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

January 15, 1989

How would you react if I said to you during an office visit, "How's your sex life?" Or enquired," Are you impotent?" Would you think it was none of my business and the doctor was being too nosy? Recent evidence suggests these are important medical questions. And whether you answer "Yes" or "No" has a direct bearing on your longevity. What is happening in the penis may also be occurring in your heart.

Dr. John Morley is Director of Geriatric Research at Sepulveda Medical Center in Virginia. In a report in The Medical Post, Dr. Morley says that one in three men over the age of 40, who are currently seeing a doctor, are suffering from impotence.

Dr. Morley says studies suggest that the presence of impotence is a good predictor of eventual coronary artery disease. In essence , if you have atherosclerosis of the penile artery sufficient to cause impotence, there's a good possibility your coronary vessels are also in jeopardy.

The penile blood flow of 130 males was determined by using the Doppler technique. Ultrasound was bounced off red blood cells as they flowed through the penile artery to determine the health of the vessel. Results showed that patients with a low penile brachial pressure index (PBPI), indicating the presence of atherosclerosis, had a significantly greater chance of vascular accident.

For instance, 26 per cent of patients with low PBPI had either a myocardial infarction or a stroke within two years of having the test done. But only 5 per cent of those with a high PBPI suffered a major cardiovascular accident.

Dr. Morley's team then compared their results with the exercise stress test often used to evaluate the status of the heart. They concluded that the PBPI test was about as good as the stress test in predicting future vascular accidents.

This is not the first study that has pinpointed the relationship between impotence and atherosclerosis. A report in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour in 1980 stated that up to 66 per cent of patients who developed a myocardial infarction suffered from impotence. Post-mortem studies by other researchers have shown atherosclerosis of the penile blood vessels.

What are the implications of this study? It appears that doctors must get over their usual reticence about discussing sexual matters with their patients. And if patients say they're impotent doctors should not simply ignore the subject and get on to other matters.

Patients who are impotent ,however, should not quickly assume they're headed for a coronary or stroke. The great majority of impotent males are experiencing trouble for other reasons.

Psychological problems head the list. I mentioned in a previous column the high incidence of impotence in chief executive officers of major corporations. Dr. Yosh Taguchi, Associate Professor of Urology at McGill University in his book ,"Private Parts" ,says, impotence affects an amazing 90 per cent of CEO's. The high level of stress and competition associated with their work takes its toll in the bedroom.

Many males are also driven by images of sexual prowess. Today it's impossible to watch television, read a magazine or drive along the highway without being bombarded by sexual innuendo. As a result it's hard for some males to live up to their own expectations.

Other impotent males may be suffering from hormone deficiency. Males,unlike females, do not normally suffer from a male menopause. Generally they continue to produce adequate amounts of the male hormone testosterone well into their seventies or longer.

But in some males the testicles slow down or stop altogether manufacturing testosterone. If this happens the low level of testosterone may result in impotence. And in other instances lack of virility is due to nerve damage, diabetes or drugs used to treat hypertension, anxiety , stomach ulcers and allergic conditions.

This is a fascinating piece of research. But I have grave reservations about it becoming a standard medical test. I can see macho males telling their friends about undergoing an exercise stress test to evaluate their cardiac status. But what male is ever going to admit he's going to have his penis checked for atherosclerosis? I think that hell will freeze over before that happens.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod