Statins Could Improve Sex Life For Older Men: Study

Statins, the United States' most common and recommended cholesterol-lowering drug has not only shown promise in treating heart risk, but a significant number of other problems as well. The most recent research has provided evidence that implies that the drug can even help treat improve erectile function, giving hope to men suffering from erectile dysfunction.

In previous studies, statin have proved ton not only lower cholesterol levels, but reduce risks of dying from heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well.

Recently these drugs, recommended by both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology for more than 56 million Americans, have also shown evidence of being able to even help treat symptoms of multiple sclerosis and delirium, conditions seemingly unrelated to CVD.

Now, according to a news study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sexual Medicine, erectile dysfunction can add itself to the rag-tag list of conditions that statins can treat.

However, like with the other aforementioned conditions, why statins can help treat erectile dysfunction has more to do with the symptoms of CVD than one might think.

According to Dr. John B. Kostis, author of the study, erectile dysfunction is a little-known warning sign of CVD.

"[It's] similar to a canary in a coal mine," the researcher said when presenting his findings at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington D.C. this past weekend.

In a meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials, Kostis and his fellow researcher found that erectile function improved in patients along with an improvement in cardiovascular health when receiving constant statin-based therapy.

Of course, this initial analysis only found an association between the state of a man's erectile function and statin therapy, and Kostis explains that further research will need to be done to determine a cause an effect-relationship.

Still, it can be theorized that blood flow, which naturally improves with a decrease in bad cholesterols that cause plaques that cause the arteries, could have a lot to do with it.

The study was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine on March 29.