Dr. Geoffrey Hackett, an urologist claims that erectile dysfunction is an early warning sign (two to three years) of an impending heart attack.

In a letter published in the online edition of British Medical Journal, Hackett writes that it is often ignored as doctors feel uncomfortable asking about it, thus treating it more like a ‘recreational or lifestyle issue’.  However, it is no longer acceptable to ignore the issue, and it is clinical negligence on the part of doctors to treat impotence as a socially embarrassing afflicition.

According to Hackett, erectile dysfunction is a manifestation of vascular disease in smaller arteries, many heart attack victims say they have been suffering for years.  Further, the specialist at Good Hope Hospital, Birmingham says it is associated with a 50% greater risk of coronary events, due to smoking, a family history of heart problems, etc., adding impotence in men afflicted with Type 2 diabetes proves to be a better predictor of heart risk than well-known factors like high blood pressure.

He has called for better screening of patients with heart disease and diabetes, as the majority of these patients go on to die from heart attack or stroke, which cause more than a third of all deaths in the UK.