Erectile dysfunction as a predictor of early stage of coronary artery disease

ABSTRACT

Diagnosis of coronary artery disease [CAD] in early stages is vital in decreasing mortality by reducing the risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between erectile dysfunction [ED] and CAD. A total of 200 patients were divided into four groups according to their angiography Group 1 [G1, n = 59] patients with one-vessel disease [1-VD]; Group 2 [G2, n = 40] patients with two-vessel disease [2-VD]; Group 3 [G3, n = 50] patients with three-vessel disease [3-VD]; and controls [C, n = 51] without any coronary disease. The International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF] was completed for all the patients to assess their sexual function and ED in the last 6 months. Mean age of the participants was 57.69 +/- 12.466 years. The prevalence of ED in the CAD patients was significantly higher than that of the controls [75.16% vs. 60.8%; p value = 0.041]. There was a significant direct correlation between the number of involved vessels in the CAD patients and ED severity [r 0.183; p value = 0.010], and the ED rate increased with age. In conclusion, ED severity correlated with the number of involved vessels documented by coronary angiography. Consequently, ED may be considered a possible marker for the development of atherosclerosis and CAD