Do Hypertensive Drugs Interfere with Erections?

Hypertension is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of an erection. The problem is that the potency is affected directly by the increased pressure increased and by the drugs designed to reduce high blood pressure. Only modern drugs for treating high blood pressure can cope with this problem.

Fortunately, in recent years  there are encouraging prospects for those men with hypertension. Pharmacology managed to create a number of drugs to treat high blood pressure that does not cause erectile dysfunction, even with long-term administration.

Intimate human health is a fundamental right and an essential aspect of normal human life and its quality. Sex life not only affects the feeling of happiness and self-esteem of man, but it also affects life expectancy, the risk of death and the possibility of developing cardiovascular diseases. As for the men, a few studies have convincingly shown that the lower sexual activity causes the higher the probability of death.

High blood pressure and impotence

Hypertension is one of the main causes of premature death in the world today. The complications of high blood pressure are different, for example myocardial infarction, coronary heart disease and stroke – these diseases kill more people than AIDS and cancer every year.

High blood pressure is particularly dangerous for men. In addition, the high blood pressure affects men more often than women. Men have another complication of the hypertension – erectile dysfunction or impotence.

Why does high blood pressure cause ED?

Sponge and the cavernous body of the penis providing erection are the part of the circulatory system and vascular disease due to high blood pressure causes problems with blood vessels of the penis.

Thus, quite frequently the cause of elevated pressure becomes excessive muscle tone in vascular walls, the reduction of which leads to a decrease of pressure and increases blood flow.

Violation of blood filling of the penis, of course, leads to erectile dysfunction. The mechanism of preventing the outflow of blood from the penis through the veins breaks down.

Furthermore, in some cases, erectile dysfunction and high blood pressure may be caused by the same reason – for example, disturbance or production of certain hormones or deposition of cholesterol in the vessels.

In short, the statistics irrefutably proves that there are more men suffering from erectile dysfunction among hypertensive patients than among people who do not have high blood pressure.

High pressure treatment and ED

Even if you are not afraid of the consequences of high blood pressure, such as stroke and heart attack, you need to take the pressure treatment for the sake of sexual health.

Moreover, as already mentioned, quite often, erectile dysfunction and high blood pressure are caused be the same reasons.

First of all, it is necessary to give up smoking – it is one of the main reasons that lead to the development of high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction by damaging effect on blood vessels.

Since high blood pressure and erectile dysfunction are often associated with the deposition of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels, people with high blood pressure should follow a diet with a reduced amount of animal fats.

However, experience shows that in most cases, if lifestyle changes do not help to normalize high blood pressure (to lower it to a value of 140/90 mm. Hg. Art.), it is necessary to take special medicines for the treatment of pressure.

Drugs against high blood pressure and sexual health

Currently there are many drugs for the treatment of high blood pressure. However, many drugs for the treatment of pressure have an unpleasant effect – they cause erectile dysfunction and decrease libido (sex drive).

Unfortunately the reasons for the so-called primary hypertension are still unknown (this kind of disease occurs in people younger than 50 years in 90-95% of cases and it is not connected with the diseases of other organs). That is why there are no radical methods of treatment of this disease. People have to take special meds for the normalization of the blood pressure for the rest of their lives. In most cases it leads to the problems with erection.

In short, there often are two alternatives for those men who are suffering from high blood pressure:

• to treat high blood pressure and live a long life, while suffering from erection problems;
• not to treat hypertension, still suffering from erectile problems with the high risk of a stroke or heart attack.

Drugs used in cardiology, often contribute to the development of erectile dysfunction. Lowering blood pressure under the influence of pills weakens the blood supply to the genitals. Beta-blockers and thiazide diuretics often cause a weakening of potency. The advantage is that the sexual act is prolonged. The treatment of hypertension with the use of non-selective beta-blockers often leads to sexual disorders. However, most recent clinical studies have confirmed the relationship of use of beta-blockers with the development of the latest generation of impotence.

According to two large-scale studies, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, calcium antagonists have no effect on sexual function.

Beta-blockers are a new generation – they do not impair the potency

After the analysis of questionnaires of 65 patients suffering from coronary heart disease it was found that metoprolol (that has been taken for 4 months) has no significant impact on the sexual life of men. Another cardioselective beta-blokator – bisoprolol does not impair erection and even increases the hardness of an erection during the sexual intercourse.