Peripheral atherosclerosis in patients with arterial erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) develops owing to psychogenic, organic or/and both of these two factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between penile cavernosal arterial flow and peripheral atherosclerosis in men with ED. This study was conducted on 102 patients who had presented to Radiology Clinic with a prediagnosis of ED. Diabetes, hypertension (HT) and smoking were recorded. Blood were taken from all patients for analysis of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein level. All the patients underwent high-resolution penile colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS). The peak-systolic velocity and the end-diastolic velocity values in the bilateral cavernosal arteries were recorded. At the same session, all the patients underwent evaluation for bilateral common carotid artery and femoral artery intima media thickness and for the presence of atherosclerotic plaque. Patients were classified as ED of arterial origin and non-arterial origin according to penile CDUS findings. Of the total 102 patients, 43 (42.2%) had arterial ED and the remaining 59 (57.8%) were contained in non-arterial ED. There was a significant difference between groups for diabetes mellitus (DM), HT, atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ACVD) and total cholesterol level (P<0.05). There was also a significant difference between groups for the presence of plaque in the carotid and the femoral artery (P<0.05). The relationship between smoking and arterial ED was not found to be statistically significant (P>0.05). Non-diagnosed or silent DM, HT and ACVD can have roles in the etiology of arterial ED. Patients who are diagnosed as having arterial ED with Doppler Ultrasound should also be evaluated with B-mode ultrasonography for other peripheral vascular atherosclerotic processes. In this way, subclinical cases can be detected and further possible complications can be avoided.