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High Blood Pressure Drugs and Impotence
Many men won't take medication for their high blood pressure because it makes them impotent. They are more afraid of impotence than they are of dying from a stroke. A report from Wake Forest Medical School showed that angiotensin receptor blocker medicines to treat high blood pressure do not interfere with a man's ability to make love. Men who were switched from beta blockers and diuretics had an improvement in their ability to make love.
Men need extra blood flow to their penis to have an erection. Diuretics lower high blood pressure by decreasing blood volume which can decrease penile blood flow. Beta blockers also decrease blood flow to the penis. On the other hand, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers and ace inhibitors do not reduce blood flow to the penis and therefore do not cause impotence. Examples of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers are Atacand, Avalide, Cozaar, Diovan, Micardis, Teveten. Examples of ace inhibitors are Accupril, Aceon, Altace, Capoten, Lotensin, Mavic, Monopril, Prinivil, Tarka, and Vasotec.
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Sexual dysfunction in hypertensive patients treated with losartan. American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 2001, Vol 321, Iss 5, pp 336-341. JL Llisterri, JVL Vidal, JA Vicente, MA Roca, CP Bravo, MAS Zamorano, CM Ferrario. Address Ferrario CM, Wake Forest Univ, Sch Med, Hypertens & Vasc Dis Ctr, Winston Salem,NC 27104 USA
Checked 12/19/10