Abstract

ROMERO, CARLOS E. Disfunción eréctil y enfermedad cardiovascular. Rev.Urug.Cardiol. [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.1, pp.65-70. ISSN 1688-0420.

SUMMARY Erectile dysfunction (ED) turned from being considered a phenomenon of psychological origin to a manifestation of an organic disease. ED is no more a specific issue of urologists but it is a matter of interest for every medical doctor (and especially for patients), after the generalization of its treatment with sildenafil. The most known aspects are the interaction of sildenafil (and similar drugs) and nitrates and the eventual risks of sexual activity in cardiac patients. Recently the similitude of risk factors of ED and cardiovascular (CV) disease was detected, as well as the responsibility of endothelial dysfunction (early stage of atherosclerotic disease) in the genesis of ED. Since ED generally presents before the ischemic heart disease, it is now considered a risk factor of future CV events, or, as has been named, a "sentinel" of CV disease, with a predictive value similar to that of classical CV risks factors, and the penis became a "barometer" of endothelial health. In this article we review the prevalence of ED, its mechanisms of production, its association with other risk factors and CV disease, and its value as a predictor of CV events.

Keywords : ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION; RISK FACTORS; CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES.

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