Erectile dysfunction may be a sign of undiagnosed heart disease among men with type 2 diabetes, researchers report.In a study of men with type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes, those with erectile dysfunction (ED) had an eight-fold risk of having undiagnosed heart disease, Italian researchers found. “Erectile dysfunction was significantly more frequent” in diabetic men later discovered to have “silent,” or symptomless, heart disease, said lead researcher Dr. Carmine Gazzaruso, an internal medicine specialist from Maugeri Foundation Hospital, Pavia, Italy.In their study, the researchers tracked the prevalence of ED in 133 diabetic men with heart disease diagnosed by angiogram, and compared it to rates of ED in 127 diabetic men without heart disease. Both groups also underwent EKGs and cardiac stress tests, according to the report published in the June 21 online edition of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
