Erectile Dysfunction: It’s More Common Than You Think

When you’re dealing with something as personal as erectile dysfunction (ED), you might feel somewhat isolated and alone in your struggles. We assure you, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

As men’s health issues go, ED is one of the most common and affects between 30 and 50 million men in the United States and about 322 million men worldwide.

Since June is National Men’s Health Month, the team of healthcare providers at Michigan Avenue Primary Care thought it would be a good idea to address ED in this month’s blog post. Here, we dive into how prevalent ED is, common causes of the issue, and treatment protocols that will get your sex life back on track.

ED — a common problem that affects men of all ages

We already discussed that ED affects between 30 and 50 million American men, and we want to expand on these numbers. 

Many people assume that ED is a problem that only older men encounter, and this isn’t true. Yes, age is a major factor — about 40% of men in their 40s have some experience with ED, and this percentage increases by about 10% with each decade. 

That said, ED is very much present in younger populations. For example, low testosterone issues are being found in increasingly younger age groups — 20% among adolescent and young adult men between the ages of 15 and 39. And without sufficient levels of testosterone, sexual function can suffer.

So, while ED does tend to favor older demographics, no age group is immune to the condition.

The many possible roads to ED

ED is technically described as the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough for sexual intercourse.

While this explanation is simple enough, what isn’t simple is all that’s involved in an erection, which relies on many different areas of your health, including your:

• Central and peripheral nervous systems
• Emotional and mental health
• Cardiovascular health
• Metabolic (hormone) health
• Reproductive health

As you might imagine, a small problem in one area can cascade and affect the entire process, leaving you with ED.

Far and away, however, the leading driver of ED is cardiovascular. To achieve and maintain an erection, you need ample blood flow to your penis, at which point muscles contract and trap the blood in your penis to create the erection. Many older men, especially those with atherosclerosis — narrowing in their arteries — have reduced blood flow to the penis. 

Called vasculogenic ED, this condition often precedes more major cardiovascular issues by 3-5 years, so your ED could be an early warning sign.

Outside of vasculogenic ED, other common drivers are low testosterone, mental health issues like depression, and diseases like diabetes.

Restoring your sex life

As you might imagine, it’s important that we first evaluate your ED to understand what’s driving the problem. From there, we can take action. For example, if we find it’s a cardiovascular issue, we can take important steps to improve your blood flow, which can improve your sexual and heart health at the same time.

Or, if low testosterone is to blame, we can try testosterone replacement therapy.

We want to assure you that we will work with you until we find the right solution for your ED so that you can get back to a healthy and happy sex life.

For expert diagnosis and treatment of your ED, we invite you to contact our clinic in The Loop, Chicago, Illinois, today to schedule an appointment.