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Erectile Dysfunction and Sleep Apnea

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Erectile Dysfunction in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea is highly prevalent in patients with erectile dysfunction, and the mechanisms implicated in this association appear to be very complex. The causation and the dose-response manner of the relationship between severity of obstructive sleep apnea and known risk factors predisposing to the development of erectile dysfunction has been suggested in multiple studies. Line of evidence linked OSA to obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cerebrovascular and coronary diseases, all of which are tightly related to the aggravated erectile function. However, a direct negative influence of unhandled sleep-disordered breathing on ED should not be disregarded. Since these data are further enhanced by evidence showing advantageous effects of CPAP therapy on erectile performance in patients with OSA, the elimination of sleep apnea may constitute an important strategy in the management of these patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hypertension and Diabetology, Medical University of Gdańsk, Dębinki 7C, Gdańsk, 80-952, Poland

    Jacek Wolf & Krzysztof Narkiewicz

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  1. Jacek Wolf
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  2. Krzysztof Narkiewicz
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Correspondence to Jacek Wolf .

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  1. Tallinn University of Technology, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia

    Margus Viigimaa

  2. Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

    Charalambos Vlachopoulos

  3. Internal Medicine, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Michael Doumas

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Wolf, J., Narkiewicz, K. (2015). Erectile Dysfunction and Sleep Apnea. In: Viigimaa, M., Vlachopoulos, C., Doumas, M. (eds) Erectile Dysfunction in Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08272-1_11

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