Good for your heart: good for your erections

Here's an easy to remember little health tip which will benefit you in more ways than one: what's good for your heart is good for your sex life.

More than 22,000 US men were followed for 14 years with the following results:

• men who were obese at the start were 90% more likely to develop erection problems (often called erectile dysfuntion or ED)
• smokers were 50% more likely to develop ED
• high-level exercisers were 30% less likely to develop ED.

The studys's co-author Dr. Eric B. Rimm of the Harvard University School of Public Health in Boston noted in an interview that once upon a time erectile problems were thought to be largely psychological. But it has become clear that heart disease and ED share many of the same risk factors, he said.

The principle is pretty simple. Anything that impairs blood vessel function and reduces blood flow could affect erections, and it's known that certain medical conditions that raise the risk of heart disease -- like high blood pressure and diabetes - can also lead to ED.

Similarly, the lifestyle choices that affect cardiovascular health, like smoking and exercise habits, influence ED risk.

This knowledge may nudge more men to make lifestyle changes, Rimm said, since heart disease can seem a distant risk, but erectile problems may be more immediate. In addition, he said, with obesity rates climbing among young people, the ED risk with obesity may increasingly become obvious at relatively young ages.