Effects of the Severity of Erectile Dysfunction on Aortic Stiffness

Abstract

Objective: Aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the degree of ED and aortic stiffness and whether cardiovascular risks increase in relation to the severity of ED.Methods: The study comprised 120 patients, who were diagnosed with ED at the urology outpatient clinics of our center, as the study group, and age- and gender-matched 30 volunteers as the control group. Erectile dysfunction in the study and the control groups were evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction (IIEF-5), the items of which are rated from 1 to 5 points. The parameters of aortic elasticity were regarded as the indicators of aortic function. Aortic systolic and diastolic indices were acquired by the ratio of aortic systolic and diastolic diameters to the body mass index.Results: When the echocardiography findings and the parameters of aortic elasticity were compared between the patient and control group, Distensibility (cm2/dyn–1/103) was 3.7±1.42 in the patient group and 4.6±2.2 in the control group, whereas aortic strain (%) was 4.9±2.6% in the patient group and 7.6±3.2% in the control group (p=0.009). When the degree of ED was evaluated according to the parameters of aortic elasticity, there was a significant difference between the control group and the ED group as well as between the control group and mild ED group, in terms of aortic stiffness. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between the mild and severe ED groups; however, there was no significant difference between moderate ED and mild and severe ED. Conclusion: There is an increased aortic stiffness in patients with ED. In addition, the degree of aortic stiffness increases with the increasing severity of ED. This finding suggests that cardiovascular risks would be higher with increasing severity of ED.

Keywords

• erektil disfonksiyon; aortik elastikiyet
• aortik strain
• erectile dysfunction
• aortic stiffness
• aortic strain