Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Disease.

In the past African American men may not have wanted to discuss their inability to get an erection with their physician, but this is a way of thinking that needs to fall by the way side. Studies show that men who have difficulty with erections may have early heart disease. The first symptom is the ease or difficulty with which one gets erections. It is now thought that the same disease process that affects the arteries in the heart, affect the larger arteries in the penis. The first symptom of heart disease is chest pain, but now the inability to get an erection may be just as important. It has been known for a long time that uncontrolled diabetes, smoking, hypertension medications, hypercholesterolemia drugs and alcohol abuse are directly related to heart disease and now the same can be said for erectile dysfunction. If you know of someone who has erectile problems or have notice a change in your ability to get an erection, by all means discuss it with your physician. I am Dr. Thaddeus John Bell closing the gap in health care.