Levitra and Heart Disease

There's a phrase that has more general application than we might choose to give it. For now, "come out of the closet" has tended to be limited to the gay community. Yet, before the introduction of the little blue pills some fourteen years ago, none of the straight community wanted to come out and admit they were suffering erectile dysfunction. The level of shame was, if anything, more serious than for a gay man who was, in the final analysis, still able to function sexually. Yet, when news broke of a pill to solve the problem, the dam burst or perhaps that should be the introduction of a new idiom, "shame be damned". Men were suddenly queueing up to admit erectile dysfunction and claim the prescription as their reward.

Come forward fourteen years and there are erectile dysfunction ads on television and in places of male worship like baseball grounds. According to the latest estimates, some 30 million American men are affected by erectile dysfunction. It's a problem that grows more common due to aging. Only about 5% of men are affected during their 50s, about 16% during their 60s and just under 50% over 75. This means some communities have higher rates than others. In Florida and other snow bird and retirement areas, there tend to be more older people. The extent to which the men are affected is only partly physical. If the men have good self-esteem and socialize confidently, they tend to be more sexually active.

The important factor in all this is the relationship between erectile dysfunction and heart disease. Given that one of the most common causes of dysfunction is artherosclerosis and this is also an early symptom of heart disease, the link is clear. There's a small mountain of research evidence showing that, if the first signs of erectile dysfunction come in men in the younger age brackets, there's a high risk of a stroke or heart attack within five years. The risk goes up if the men are smokers and drink alcohol in significant amounts. Now let's come to the erectile dysfunction drugs. Although artherosclerosis disrupts the way in which the penile artery works, the use of one of the erectile dysfunction drugs will produce erections again in most cases. It's impossible to predict how long the erections will continue. Many men who begin taking the less strong drugs, find the benefits can fade quite quickly at lower dosages. Before too long, it's necessary to move up in strength. For the record, the strongest of the three drugs is Levitra. It produces the best results at the lowest dosages. Unfortunately, using any of these drugs is hiding the symptoms of developing heart disease! That's right. Instead of getting treatment for the cause of the erectile dysfunction that will kill you, the drug encourages you to act as if nothing is wrong.

The moral of this story is absolutely clear. If erectile dysfunction affects you before or during your 50s, get a full medical check. Should your regular physician confirm the presence of other symptoms of heart disease, you just saved your life. Instead of relying on Levitra to treat the symptom, get treatment for the cause and enjoy a long life full of sexual activity.