Your overall wellness depends on many aspects of health, including sexual health. So, when your sex life hits a snag because of erectile dysfunction, it can affect your general well-being, both inside and outside the bedroom.
Dr. Scott Lafferty and our team at Lafferty Family Care have a deep understanding of erectile dysfunction (ED). Here are five things we want you to know about it.
If you feel alone in your struggles with sexual health, we assure you that you are not. In the United States, between 30 million and 50 million men report ED, and these numbers tend to rise with age. For example, 40% of men around age 40 have ED, while this number grows to 70% of men by age 70.
Achieving an erection requires many things, but the key physical ingredient is strong blood flow to your penis. This creates the firmness needed to create and maintain an erection by trapping blood in the penile tissue.
While ED has many potential causes, insufficient blood flow is at the top of the list. Because this could reflect an underlying vascular problem, many doctors also refer to ED as an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease.
Given this reality, it’s important to seek help to get to the bottom of your ED.
The number of people with diabetes in the US is on the rise, and more than 40 million people are affected. This disease casts a wide net, and one area it can negatively impact is your sexual function: Up to half of men with diabetes also have ED. This connection is largely due to the blood vessel damage caused by diabetes.
If you have depression, this can lead to erectile dysfunction due to a loss of interest. At the same time, ED can lead to depression due to an unsatisfying sex life.
Many different solutions for ED can get your sex life back on track. Some examples of treatments for ED include:
It’s hard for us to be more specific because ED treatments depend on the root cause. Once we identify it, we can take action to improve your sexual health — and, often, your overall health at the same time.
To get on the road to better sexual health, we invite you to schedule an appointment at Lafferty Family Care in Rogers, Arkansas, today.
