Blood pressure is fickle. If it’s not operating at it’s optimum level, the rest of the body can pay the price. So when you develop high blood pressure, it can somewhat nerve wracking. After all, you’ve heard that spike blood pressure levels can lead to deadly problems such as heart attack and stroke. But high blood pressure doesn’t just affect your heart. It can also affect other extremities that are dependent upon the heart, such as the penis.
Yes, while it may feel like you’ve got enough to worry about with high blood pressure as it is, high blood pressure can also lead to erectile issues. That’s not to say that every man that deals with high blood pressure will find himself unable to achieve an erection, but the correlation is high. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that 49% of men between 40 to 79 with high blood pressure reported suffering from erectile dysfunction.
It’s easy to understand how high blood pressure can lead to ED. Your erection is dependent upon your heart, which causes important blood vessels to dilate as blood is passed through the body. With high blood pressure, the heart can be dealing with this newfound stress, which in turn can lead to arteries not dilating properly, which equates to not enough blood being supplied to the penis to achieve an erection.
So, short answer, yes, men with high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing erectile dysfunction than normal men. If you find yourself experiencing erectile issues, speak to your doctor and work together to figure out how to beat the problem. Your plate is full enough with high blood pressure, so there’s no reason to add ED to the mix.