What Causes ED and What You Can Do

What Causes ED and What You Can Do

Since the advent of ED drugs 20 years ago attitudes to erectile dysfunction have changed from something men were embarrassed to talk about to a topic that can be discussed with mates over a beer.

Where men used to accept that they couldn't have a sex life as they got older, now men and women confidently expect to be able to continue having sex much longer.

ED Increases With Age

Erectile Dysfunction – the inability to get an erection hard enough to complete intercourse – increases with age.

Research shows:

• 40 percent of men in their 40's
• 50 percent of men in their 50's
• 60 percent of men in their 60's 
• and 70 percent of men in their 70's experience erectile dysfunction. (1)

Australian research shows that the number of Australian men experiencing erection problems is much the same as that in the US and UK. (2)

And a South Australian study shows 60 is the turning point where many men recognise their desire to last longer in bed exceeds his ability to perform and erection problems increase. (3)

ED Warning Signs

Maintaining a great sex life is one motivator for checking out erection problems, but if you needed any other reason to take the issue of impotence seriously, new research also indicates links between ED and heart disease risk.

ED is often an early warning of heart disease, foreshadowing future coronary risk by three to four years, one study shows. And Australian research shows links not just to heart risk, but to diabetes as well. Failure to seek advice on ED meant men may be missing vital warning signs of other heart problems, Andrology Australia doctors say.

ED is often like a "canary in the mine"; a warning of future serious health issues.

Erection problems often occur when blood flow is cut off to very fine blood vessels in the penis by plaque build-up. Because the vessels are so small, the blockages are noticed much earlier than in the larger vessels flowing into the heart. And diabetes accelerates the process because high blood sugar increases vessel damage.

Sex is Good for Your Health

The great news is that sex is good for your health. British researchers say you work off six Big Macs by having sex three times a week.

Having a good sex life (rated as at least twice a week) also:

• Boosts Testosterone (good for muscles and bone strength)
• Lowers heart risks
• Reduces depression and improves immune system
• Increases life expectancy
• Relieves pain and keeps your prostate healthy

Erection Problems Bother Men More Than Low Libido Bothers Women

Research shows ED bothers men more than low libido does in women. For many men, having sex is part of their masculine identity. (5) Sex fulfills men's emotional needs.

A top sex expert says many men are on a "five day cycle" (wanting sex once every five days), while many women are on a ten day cycle.

And Australian sex doctor Rosie King says men get an emotional response from sex that women find more easily in other ways.

For men, going without sex is like going without conversation for a women, says Dr. King.

"Women are very good at getting their emotional and physical needs met outside a romantic relationship, while men often rely on sexual activity with their partners to fulfill these very important needs." (6)

What Causes Erectile Dysfunction?

Getting an erection involves a precise sequence of events involving nerve impulses and blood flow to the penis. Many things can interfere with this functioning, resulting in ED.

As indicated in the section ED Warning Signs, when it first occurs there may be an unknown underlying cause like cardiovascular disease, diabetes or high cholesterol.

Sometimes physical and psychological causes can combine – stress from financial worries, overwork or feeling anxious about sex combined with physical factors can all have an impact.

Common Causes of Erectile Dysfunction

Psychological and emotional problems	• Performance anxiety • Sexual attitudes and upbringing • Relationship problems • Employment and financial pressures • Depression • Psychiatric disorders
Metabolic problems affecting blood vessel function	• Diabetes • High blood pressure • Obesity • Renal failure • High cholesterol • Sleep apnoea
Reduced blood flow	• Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) • Surgical damage to blood vessels
Interference by medication, alcohol and other drugs	• Cigarettes • Alcohol and drug abuse • Some medicines used to treat: • Blood pressure • Cholesterol • Depression • Psychiatric disorders • Prostate cancer
Interference with nerve function	• Parkinson’s disease • Alzheimer’s disease • Spinal cord trauma • Multiple sclerosis • Diabetic neuropathy • Pelvic surgery (prostate, bowel)
Urological problems	• Peyronie’s disease • Pelvic trauma

Source: Andrology Australia.org

 

Later Life Premature Ejaculation

Premature ejaculation is the most common men's sexual problem, and affects men of all ages. However some men find that after years of normal ejaculation, as they grow older, their erection lasts for a progressively shorter time.

This condition is known as secondary, later life, or acquired premature ejaculation and is usually caused by anxiety about sexual performance or relationship or relationship issues, although there can be underlying physical causes.

Treating Erectile Dysfunction

1) Give Your Penis a Present - Get Physical
Whatever you do for your heart will also score a bonus in preventing and treating erection problems. So tackling the main risk factors for heart health will have benefits when it comes to longer lasting sex. 

That's because the blood vessels flowing into the penis are a third of the size of the coronary arteries flowing into the heart. If you change the life patterns which affects blood supply to the heart, you will also discover the secret of sexual health.

Risk Factors for Heart Health and ED Include:

• Being overweight
• Lack of exercise
• High cholesterol
• Cigarette smoking 
• High blood pressure

Take a look at this list and it's obvious they are linked by one common issues - regular exercise. Less than half of Australians exercise at a level sufficient to maintain good health. It's simple really - if you want to give your penis a present, stop smoking and get physical.

2) Deal with Stress and Depression
Looking after your emotional health is the second important step in treating ED. Stress and depression - or side effects of medications prescribed for depression - can have a big effect on confidence and sexual health. You may experience performance anxiety if you are stressed or depressed.

3) Erection Drugs

ED drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are known as PDE-5 inhibitors because they act by increasing blood supply to the penis by reducing the action of the enzyme type 5 phosphodiesterase (PDE-5).

All three medicines work by enhancing the effects of nitric oxide to relax smooth muscles in the penis, increasing the amount of blood and allowing an erection to occur after sexual stimulation.

Erection drugs are not recommended if you've had a heart attack, or life threatening heart rhythm during the last six months or if you are on a nitrate medication used to prevent and relieve chest pain due to coronary artery disease.

4) Surgical and Other Mechanical ED Treatments
There are a range of physical interventions available, including Prostaglandin E needle therapy (invasive, expensive and can cause scarring) vacuum devices (self-administered pump and vacuum system) Penile implants (not recommended until other options have been tried) and vascular surgery.

If no other options are suitable for you, check these with your medical specialist to see if they could benefit you.

5) Male Herbal Enhancement Drugs
As men and women in their middle years opt for a more active sex life, the popularity of herbal options over erection drugs has grown.

Some have found the side effects of erectile dysfunction drugs unpleasant; others simply prefer more natural treatment options.

Herbs known in traditional medicine for thousands of years like tribulus terrestris, horny goat weed, avena sativa, maca, and yohimbe are increasingly used for erectile dysfunction treatment. 

ED helper Herbal Ignite is an example. Successfully marketed to thousands of men in Australia, NZ and the US for nearly 15 years, it contains horney goat weed, a herb which contains PDE-5 inhibitors found in erection drugs in naturally occurring form, and tribulus terrestris, shown in trials to naturally elevate testosterone levels back to those similar when a man was younger.

How To Last Longer
We hope you've got the message that ED is not something you have to keep quiet about. Quite the opposite. It's in the interests of your health - both mind and body - to deal with the issue if it arises, before it creates relationship problems and impairs your sexual health.

We've outlined the options. Now it's over to you!

References

(1)      Feldman HA, et al. Impotence and its medical and psychological correlates: Results of the Massachusetts male ageing study, Journal of Urology 1994, vol 151: pp 54 – 61

 

(2)      Jake M Najman, Michael P Dunne, Frances M Boyle, Michelle D Cook, David M Purdie published in the Australian Family Physician Vol. 32, No. 11, November 2003

 

(3)      Pinnock CB, Stapleton AMF, Marshall VR. Erectile dysfunction in the community: a prevalence study. Med J Aust 1999; 171: 353-357. (3)

 

(4)      Medical Journal of Australia, June 2010, Carol Holden and Carolyn Allan of Andrology Australia, and Robert McLachlan of Melbourne’s Prince Henry Institute

http://ama.com.au/node/5706

 

(5)      Attitudes of men with erectile dysfunction: a cross-national survey. Perelman M, Shabsigh R, Seftel A, Althof S, Lockhart D. J Sex Med. 2005 May;2(3):397-406. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16422872

 

(6)      Dr Rosie King, Where Did My Libido Go, Random House Australia, 2010.