'Penis - The Antenna of the Heart'

[RedOnce]

'Penis - the antenna of the heart'

Impotence is a major warning sign of potential heart failure, according to a new study by top Austrian scientists. "The penis is the antenna of the heart," said Dr Stephan Madersbacher, head of Urology at the Danube Hospital in Vienna.

Dr Madersbacher found that men who experience moderate to serious erectile dysfunction had a 65% higher risk of a heart attack within 10 years. And the risk of a stroke was found to be 43% higher in impotent men, in the study which was run in conjunction with the city council.

He said the reason for the link is the similarity between the muscle and blood vessel cells of the penis and those in the heart. Damage to one is often an indicator of damage to both.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1752342.html?menu=news.scienceanddiscovery

[boobooday]

1. I'm sorry, but that headline

:rofl:

After I stopped laughing, I wondered how drugs like Viagra interact with these blood vessels. Does treating the impotence affect the risk of heart attack?

[HereSince1628]

2. Actually, I think there was fear of increased heart attack and stroke

in viagra users. I don't know how that has resolved in studies directed at the question.

[boobooday]

5. It sounds like it could be an issue

Of course the pharmaceutical companies wouldn't want to know, would they.

[smirkymonkey]

11. Or, would it be the fact that you were impotent and needed to

take viagra in the first place predipose you to a heart attack or stroke? I wonder if the drug exacerbates the condition or if the condition itself is just an indicator.

[Warpy]

12. Viagra was originally tested as a blood pressure medication

that relaxed arterial walls.

Well, it did a great job on one set of arteries.

The problem is that it interacts with other blood pressure drugs and the first line drug for chest pain, nitroglycerine.

Men have died because they were too embarrassed to tell the cardiologist they were taking Viagra.

[Botany]

3. How about a man's penis his other brain?

:rofl:

[shrike]

6. Do you know why most men name their penises?

If you made 95 percent of the decisions, you'd want a name, too.

[bemildred]

4. Sounds like a shameless attention whore to me.

Does the softening of the winkle offer some new diagnostic capability not better accomplished otherwise? Or are we to have physicians fingering a mans winkle as the best way to gain insight into how his carotid arteries are holding up?

[1monster]

7. My husband started having some impotence about ten years before there

were any signs of heart problems. His blood pressure remained low even when he was in the hospital for angioplasty and stent placement.

It was less than a month before the angiogram that he started showing shortness of breath and chest pains.

One artery was 85% blocked and another 50% blocked with lesser blocks on the others. The doctors said he was about three weeks to two months away from a massive heart attack.

(This is a guy who was not overweight, got plenty of exercise, and had a reasonably decent diet).

After learning of the blocked arteries, I realized that the increasing impotence had been a warning, but since all other factors, including an electrokardiogram, were coming up AOKay, I didn't put two and two together. And neither did his doctors.

[bemildred]

8. Impotence has long been related to circulatory issues,

among other things that may "cause" it, like a profound distaste for the lady in question. I am merely saying that there are more direct ways to look at the condition of your arteries and heart, and that this fellow, being a urologist, has reason to suggest that you examine your penis instead. I hope your husband is well.

[1monster]

9. He's probably gonna live into his hundreds now. My point was that the

impotence was the ONLY indicator that something was wrong right up until a month before a major heart attack was immenent.

Even the stress test did not show a problem until then because this man was out on walking tours three to seven nights a week.

I think this is a valid warning. Men and wives or significant others, if impotence is more than a once in a great while occurance, then a trip to the cardiologist is in order, if only to rule out heart and circulatory problems.

It was the only indicator for my husband and things could have easily turned out quite differently.

[bemildred]

10. In the context of vigorous good health otherwise, I can agree. nt