Alternative medicine (1)
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- Erectile dysfunction: A sign of heart disease?
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- Senior sex: Tips for older men
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- Erectile dysfunction and diabetes: Take control today
- Erectile dysfunction: Viagra and other oral medications
- Erectile dysfunction herbs: A natural treatment for ED?
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Erectile dysfunction: A sign of heart disease?
Erectile dysfunction medications and nitrates: A dangerous mix
Medications prescribed for treatment of erectile dysfunction may cause significant side effects when mixed with certain heart drugs called nitrates.
Nitrates are often prescribed to reduce chest pain, dilate the blood vessels and lower blood pressure. Because erectile dysfunction medications, such as sildenafil (Viagra), also reduce blood pressure, combining these two types of medication can cause a dangerous drop in blood pressure.
Do not take sildenafil (Viagra), vardenafil (Levitra) or tadalafil (Cialis) if you use nitrate medications (NitroBid, Nitro-Dur, Imdur, others) for chest pain.
If you have coronary artery disease or have had a heart attack in recent months, check with your doctor before you begin taking any of these drugs for erectile dysfunction.
Anxiety: The worry of heart disease and sex
Men who've had a heart attack or surgery to treat their heart disease are often anxious about resuming an active sex life. However, intercourse seldom causes heart attacks. Sexual activity with your usual partner in a familiar setting doesn't lead to a particularly high blood pressure level or heart rate. Even if you're at high risk of having a heart attack, weekly sexual activity only slightly raises the risk. Talk to your doctor about when you can resume sexual activity after you've had heart problems or surgery.
Depression, heart disease and erectile dysfunction
There's mounting evidence that depression is associated with an increased chance of having heart problems — and erectile dysfunction. Work with your doctor to make sure you're getting the right treatment if you're feeling down. Treatment can help alleviate erectile dysfunction and may prevent heart problems.
Depression is treated with counseling and medications. Although treating depression can help with erectile dysfunction, some antidepressants have sexual side effects. If you do have bothersome sexual side effects, you may need to try another antidepressant. Your doctor can also decrease the dose or add another medication to offset the effects of the antidepressant on erectile dysfunction.
Is your erectile dysfunction linked to heart disease?
Seeing your doctor for erectile dysfunction may have a silver lining. It could be a tip-off that you have underlying health problems linked to heart disease that need to be checked out and treated. If your doctor thinks you may be at risk for heart disease, making simple lifestyle changes may be enough to help keep your heart healthy — and improve your ability to have an erection. If you have more serious signs and symptoms of heart disease, you may further tests or treatments.
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