Bezmiâlem Science (Aug 2022)
Assessment of Exercise Stress Test Parameters in Patients with Erectile Dysfunction
Abstract
Objective:Erectile dysfunction (ED) has a significant impact on quality of life, given its high prevalence and association with cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate exercise treadmill parameters in patients with ED.Methods:A total of 178 patients who were admitted to the cardiology clinic was enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to their International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) score. Exercise time, maximum heart rate (HR), resting HR, chronotropic index (CI), HR recovery at one minute (HRR1) and two minutes (HRR2) were evaluated for each patient.Results:Subjects with ED were older, had similar rates of diabetes mellitus and hypertension compared to control group. Exercise time was longer and peak HR was higher in patients with ED compared to the healthy counterparts [556.00 (61) sec. vs 575.5 (84) sec. p=0.025, and 156.00 (13) bpm vs 160.50 (11) bpm p=0.001, respectively]. We did not find statistically significant differences with respect to resting HR, HRR1, HRR2, CI, maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure, or rate pressure product between two groups. IIEF-5 score was negatively correlated with age (r=-0.54, p=<0.001), TC (r=-0.32, p=<0.001), LDL-C (r=-0.34, p=<0.001), TG (r=-0.17, p=0.02) and positively correlated with exercise time (r=0.19, p=0.01) and maximal HR (r=0.24, p=0.001). Prevalence of abnormal HRR1 values was significantly higher in study group (n=29, 23.6%) compared to control group (n=6, 10.9 %) (p=004). According to Quade’s ANCOVA results, exercise time and maximal HR were not different between two groups when age was used as a covariate (F=1.032 p=0.311 and F=1.264, p=0.262, respectively).Conclusion:Abnormalities of autonomic system activity is more prevalent in patients with ED. Exercise treadmill testing can be used to assess autonomic activity in that group of patients.
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