Why does ED stand for Early Death and no longer just Erectile Dysfunction?

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Sex Medicine, erectile dysfunction (ED) is a far more serious condition than previously thought. Men who suffer from ED are more likely to die an early death. Researchers at the University of Mississippi found that those with ED were 70% more likely to die at a younger age due to cardiovascular disease. ED is appears to be a barometer of a man’s overall circulatory health. ED is literally a ticking time-bomb, and men who ignore it do so at the expense of their own life.

Comments from Dr. Thomas: Is Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra the solution to ED? Such medications are a “Band-Aid” at best, and they do NOTHING to reverse the underlying microcirculatory dysfunction that leads to most cases of ED. Furthermore, long-term use of ED drugs are associated with hearing loss, retinal hemorrhaging and subsequent vision loss, strokes, heart attacks, cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart), arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), tachycardia (fast heartbeat), gastritis (stomach inflammation), acid reflux, anorgasmia (inability to ejaculate), urinary bladder infections, and urinary incontinence. Long-term use of ED drugs can also lead to psychological dependency.

So, what is the solution? The real solution is our comprehensive metabolic and nutritional protocol designed to improve microcirculatory blood flow not only to the penis, but also to the brain, eyes, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and muscles simultaneously. Not only does such an approach get to the very root of the ED problem and restores erections without the need for medication, it also improves overall health and reduces the risk of early death due to cardiovascular disease.

Additional comments: Discussions of heart disease often revolve around macrocirculation—the large coronary arteries that feed the heart. However, in many patients who complain of cardiovascular symptoms such as chest pain and who later suffer myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), angiograms show no evidence of blockages in their larger arteries. In other words, many patients who were clearly having heart trouble had healthy coronary arteries. Their larger vessels showed no signs of stenosis (narrowing or blockage of arteries).

Up until about a decade ago, this was somewhat of a medical mystery. But as diagnostic methods improved, scientists began to realize that the problem with these patients occurred not in the larger blood vessels, but rather in the smaller vessels that comprise the microcirculatory system. They named this type of condition microvascular coronary disease, small vessel heart disease, or microvascular disease.

The delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the cells occurs almost exclusively at the microcirculatory level. The uptake and removal of cellular waste products also occurs at the microcirculatory level. Each cell in the body has its own personal blood supply within 1/500th of an inch from the incredible 18,000 miles of capillaries that make up the microcirculatory system.

Dysfunction in the microcirculatory system (microangiopathy) is not only a major cause of heart attacks, it is also an underlying cause of high-blood pressure, Type II diabetes, and even cancer.  If tissues are deprived by the microcirculation, the body has no choice but to compensate by increasing the pressure in the macrocirculation in an attempt to force more blood through the microcirculation.

Reduction of blood flow (ischemia) in the microcirculation reduces critical glucose uptake by skeletal muscle, which eventually leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. This can also lead to tissue hypoxia (lack of oxygen), upregulation of  hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), and stimulation of tumor proliferation.

Clearly, microcirculation is essential. Enhancing the microvascular system is as important as maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and tending to other aspects of cardiovascular health. For more information about our comprehensive metabolic and nutritional protocol designed to improve microcirculatory blood flow, please contact my office.