08年10月22日每日科学，一位专家在英国医学杂志网站上警告：勃起功能障碍可以提前2至3年预测心脏病的风险。伯明翰德望医院的Geoffrey Hackett博士说，但是这两者之间的联系往往被医生忽略。
多年来Hackett都定期报道了许多病人患心脏病后都伴有勃起功能障碍，没想到听说他们早在2至3年前就有该症状，这个警示却往往被全科医生忽略。众所周知勃起功能障碍（一种发生在小动脉的血管性疾病症状）可以将心脏病的患病风险增加一倍，使得其风险程度等价于中度抽烟者或直系亲属的心脏病家族史。2型糖尿病的病人伴勃起功能障碍比高血压或高胆固醇血症更能预示患心脏病的风险。
Hackett说，但是勃起功能障碍仍旧被当作娱乐或生活方式对待，而不是被预示严重的健康问题。他说，英国政府担保到2010年要减少75岁人口以下的冠心病和中风或相关疾病的死亡率至少40%，却没有提到伴有勃起功能障碍的糖尿病和心脏病患者。他总结说：“基于心脏病专家不愿意对他的病人提到‘勃起’这个词，或者说因他们将不得不涉及有关肯定答复的处理而继续忽视该问题，这是不再可以接受的，依照现有证据，在临床上也是不再可以疏忽的。"
原文：
Erectile Dysfunction Gives Early Warning Of A Heart Attack, Warns Expert
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021210309.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2008) — Erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early warning of a heart attack, warns an expert on the British Medical Journal website.
But the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Dr Geoffrey Hackett from the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham.
Over many years Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three years before—a warning sign ignored by their general practitioners.
It is well known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker or having an immediate family history of heart disease. Erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
But despite this considerable evidence erectile dysfunction is still treated as a recreational or "lifestyle issue" rather than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
The UK government has pledged to reduce the death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke and related diseases in people under 75 by at least 40% by 2010, yet there is no screening for erectile dysfunction in patients with diabetes or heart disease, he says.
"Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word 'erection' to their patients or that they may have to deal with the management of a positive response, is no longer acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically negligent", he concludes.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081021210309.htm
ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2008) — Erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early warning of a heart attack, warns an expert on the British Medical Journal website.
But the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Dr Geoffrey Hackett from the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham.
Over many years Hackett reports regularly seeing patients referred with erectile dysfunction after a heart attack, only to hear that they had developed erectile dysfunction two to three years before—a warning sign ignored by their general practitioners.
It is well known that erectile dysfunction (a symptom of vascular disease in the smaller arteries) doubles the risk of heart disease, a risk equivalent to being a moderate smoker or having an immediate family history of heart disease. Erectile dysfunction in type 2 diabetes has been shown to be a better predictor of the risk of heart disease than high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
But despite this considerable evidence erectile dysfunction is still treated as a recreational or "lifestyle issue" rather than a predictor of a serious health problem, says Hackett.
The UK government has pledged to reduce the death rate from coronary heart disease and stroke and related diseases in people under 75 by at least 40% by 2010, yet there is no screening for erectile dysfunction in patients with diabetes or heart disease, he says.
"Continuing to ignore these issues on the basis that cardiologists feel uncomfortable mentioning the word 'erection' to their patients or that they may have to deal with the management of a positive response, is no longer acceptable and possibly, based on current evidence, clinically negligent", he concludes.
