Are Erectile Dysfunction and Heart Disease Linked?

Erectile dysfunction is a fairly complicated condition, or more accurately worded, it’s a complicated symptom of a variety of other conditions.

So, in your journey to figure out what is causing your erectile dysfunction and hopefully resolve it, you might come across an important question – are erectile dysfunction and heart disease linked? One of the main links to erectile dysfunction can be a pretty scary medical condition: heart disease.

Luckily, that’s not always the case. While erectile dysfunction is commonly linked to heart disease, there are other situations that cause it, and they’re typically not as serious or concerning in terms of your overall health.

While we’ve answered the question posed in this post’s title, we’re going to go in-depth about why erectile dysfunction is connected to heart disease, what other problems might be causing it, and some potential treatments that can help resolve erectile dysfunction regardless of what the root cause of your condition is.

Let’s get started.

How Heart Disease Causes Erectile Dysfunction

Heart disease is linked to erectile dysfunction. If you are developing heart disease, erectile dysfunction might tip you off that you need to get a physical performed, or if you have already been diagnosed with heart disease, you can expect erectile dysfunction to follow.

What causes this, though? Why does your heart have anything to do with the function of your penis? Well, it all comes down to blood flow.

Blood fills spongey chambers in the penis to cause an erection. It’s similar to a watering hose. When large amounts of water flood through the hose, the hose becomes a lot more rigid. It’s the same principle with your erection. However, imagine barely turning on the spigot while using the hose. There won’t be a lot of pressure, and the hose won’t change much. In terms of your erection, your heart is your “spigot”. It pumps the blood that enters the penis and makes it rigid. If your heart is having trouble pumping blood in large enough quantities, you won’t get the blood flow necessary for an erection.

In the case of heart disease, fully treating erectile dysfunction can be a challenge. However, the situation can be made a lot better, and we’ll discuss the possibilities later on.

Now, there are also other reasons your penis might not get enough blood flow. So, don’t immediately freak out about your heart potentially failing.

Scar Tissue:

Scar tissue is another major issue that can cause your penis not to get enough blood flow. Even if your heart is technically pumping at full capacity if there are parts of your penis damaged by scar tissue, the chambers and veins in the penis might not allow blood to flow in.

This scar tissue builds up over time. It’s common in men who have a bit more curvature than average, and it can result from different types of traumas. Because scar tissue builds over time, the erectile dysfunction issues stemming from this tend to happen mostly in older men.

In situations where an underlying heart problem isn’t the issue, this is usually the case. Don’t worry, though. There are a number of treatment options available that can resolve this problem.

Mental Blocks:

While not often the case for long-term erectile dysfunction, mental blocks can cause short-term problems. Imagine going through something really traumatic, or maybe being really nervous before having sex with a new partner. If you typically don’t have any problems, and you just have an issue getting an erection once or twice, try not to dwell on it too much. If the problem persists, you should definitely start considering other potential causes.

High Blood Pressure:

High blood pressure is extremely common in American males. Coincidentally, it is also connected to erectile dysfunction issues. It might cause you to get an erection just fine, but lose it mid-sex, or it might prevent you from diverting enough blood to your penis; resulting in a semi-erect penis that is less than optimal for sex.

While this is a bit more serious than a mental block or scar tissue, it’s still something that can be treated, and it’s far less serious than active heart disease problems, and if you are at risk for high blood pressure, you might have an easy time figuring out exactly what’s causing the erectile dysfunction.

Can Erectile Dysfunction Created by Heart Disease be Cured?

Erectile dysfunction, in general, can be treated and usually cured thanks to new advances in treatment options like the ED treatment in New Orleans. However, when talking about erectile dysfunction that is caused by heart disease, there are a couple of other things to consider.

No erectile dysfunction treatment is going to make a severely weakened heart pump more efficient. In fact, because a heart that is stricken with heart disease is weakened so badly, certain traditional erectile dysfunction treatments can be extremely dangerous.

For example, traditional “little blue pills” work by forcing your heart to go into overdrive. If you have existing heart problems, that can be fatal.

Also, things done directly to the penis can’t really increase the effectiveness of your heart, either.

Luckily, you’re not hopeless; especially if you’re not completely incapable of getting an erection.

Sometimes, the heart disease issue isn’t the only thing causing your erectile dysfunction. You might also have scar tissue or blocked chambers in the penis, and when paired with the weaker blood flow from your heart, that causes the problem. If the scar tissue can be removed via Triumph Health Centers’ acoustic wave therapy, the problem can at least be partially resolved by allowing what blood you are getting to flow into the penis properly.

The extent of your heart disease will greatly affect how successful this is, but many patients will at least regain some ability to get an erection.

Then, you can increase the results by focusing on your heart health. Just because you have heart disease doesn’t mean you can’t strengthen your heart. Your doctor is likely guiding you through this process already. If you combine your doctor-recommended heart exercises with therapy from Triumph Health Centers, you can see a night and day difference in the quality of your erections.

Blood Pressure Solutions:

If you’re suffering from another heart-based problem such as high blood pressure, the same concept applies. It can be difficult to provide any surefire cure unless the high blood pressure is dealt with, too.

However, reopening blocked chambers in the penis will definitely go a long way towards helping you resolve the issue, and in the case of high blood pressure, some minor lifestyle changes can typically help resolve the rest of the core problem.

Is Erectile Dysfunction Treatable for Other Causes?

While treating erectile dysfunction caused by heart disease can be a bit more difficult due to the lack of blood in your overall system, you’ll be happy to know that other causes of erectile dysfunction are far easier to treat, and in a lot of cases, they can be flat-out cured.

For mental blocks, the best thing to do is relax. If you occasionally notice that your head just isn’t in the game, take a little time to relax, or if it’s with a new partner, try to become more comfortable with them before initiating intercourse.

However, scar tissue, the leading cause of long-term erectile dysfunction, is extremely treatable, and with advances in modern treatment methods, most patients can expect it to be outright cured.

Let’s go over some of the types of erectile dysfunction treatment options available.

Pills:

If you have high blood pressure or heart disease, you should stay away from any sort of erection pill. They work by forcing your heart to work harder in an unnatural way, and with your condition, you might give yourself a heart attack.

Even men with good cardiovascular systems should avoid these pills due to the high amounts of stress they put on the cardiovascular system.

Implants:

In some cases, hard implants might be surgically implanted into the penis. If that didn’t sound like an enjoyable experience, don’t worry. It’s not a recommended solution. These implants are extremely invasive, don’t resolve the primary problems causing your erectile dysfunction, and can cause even worse problems if the procedure is botched.

Pumps:

A pump is an option whether you have heart disease or not. This works by placing a tube over your penis and pumping a hand pump for a few seconds right before intercourse. This is a better option than the first two solutions because the pump doesn’t affect your heart, and when it’s used correctly, it shouldn’t cause any other problems.

The problem with pumps is that they’re embarrassing. Just imagine getting your partner in the mood, you’re all set to do the deed, and then you whip out this odd contraption and start inflating your genitals. It doesn’t exactly scream “romance”. That, and if you use the pump wrong, you can cause the creation of scar tissue; which can worsen your erectile dysfunction symptoms in the long term.

Injections:

Injections are delivered via a hypodermic needle into your penis. Again, this doesn’t sound pleasant because it’s not. It’s also not a long-term treatment. You have to return for more shots every couple of weeks, or your erectile dysfunction symptoms will be just as bad as they were originally.

The Real Solution to Erectile Dysfunction

You’ve now learned a little about ineffective erectile dysfunction solutions. Not only are they ineffective, but if you suffer from heart disease, some of them can be fatal.

So, how can you treat your erectile dysfunction without worrying about heart problems or having to consistently go through uncomfortable situations?

Well, that’s where modern breakthroughs in ED treatment come in.

As we said earlier, scar tissue builds up within the penis over time. That scar tissue makes the chambers in the penis less accessible, constricts veins, and generally weakens blood flow in the penis.

With ED medications, this is a simple and non-invasive process.

Now, because heart disease can vary so wildly, just getting rid of the scar tissue might not be enough to get you back into the same sexual shape you were in during your 20s. However, by focusing on your heart health while treating the scar tissue, you can slowly build yourself up.

If you would like a free consultation to see if it is a suitable treatment for your erectile dysfunction, contact us, today.