Causes of Erectile Dysfunction

It happens to the best of us. After an evening of fine dining and entertainment, you finally settle into bed with your wife for an intimate moment. You move in closer, but something’s wrong: you remain flaccid. Anxiety overtakes you, and the problem only gets worse. You fall back into bed tired and defeated.

If this scenario plays out far too often in your life, it may be time to seek treatment for erectile dysfunction. Natural erectile dysfunction is a common condition affecting over half of all men between the ages of 40 and 70. The sexual disorder is characterized by the regular, repeated inability to obtain or maintain an erection. Many factors can cause male erectile dysfunction, and, thankfully, the majority of them are treatable.

Psychological erectile dysfunction causes

Psychological factors account for nearly 10% of erection problems. They often stem from nervousness, performance anxiety or fear of failure during lovemaking. These factors result in the manifestation of adrenaline surges, which cause a reduced blood flow to the penis.

Since psychological issues tend to compound themselves, the physiological effects of your anxiety can build, making sex problems worse. Often, the original causes of erectile dysfunction are hard to pinpoint, simply because psychological and physical issues are so closely related. This is how sterility and erection problems become a vicious cycle difficult to break out of without help.

There are warning signs, however, that your sex problems may be mental rather than physical. For instance, you may be able to achieve or maintain an erection with one partner but not with another. You may find your erection harder during masturbation than during sexual intercourse. Often, erectile dysfunction causes can stem from unstable or difficult relationships. If you have experienced any of these situations, your ED issues may be cause by psychological factors.

Aside from performance anxiety, other causes of ED include stress, low sexual drive, guilt, anxiety, sexual boredom or depression.

Physical erectile dysfunction causes

A lion’s share of about 90% of all cases of erection problems is caused by physical factors. These causes of erectile dysfunction are classified as vascular and non-vascular diseases – referring to whether or not the issue stems from blood flow problems. The vast major of all male erectile dysfunction suffering results from vascular malfunction.

The penis requires a healthy blood flow to achieve erection, and even a slight reduction in blood flow can cause erectile dysfunction problems. This condition – referred to as “vascular insufficiency” – correlates to the following risk factors:

  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • High Blood Cholesterol
  • Cardiac diseases
  • Smoking
  • Poor Overall Circulation

Many prescription medications for vascular diseases actually exacerbate erection problems. While you erection problems may seem like the more tangible concern, you must not discontinue your medications unless otherwise instructed by your physician. Drugs for erectile dysfunction should only be taken under strict medical supervision; they are not always the right erectile dysfunction remedy for everyone.

Other associated physical conditions considered erectile dysfunction causes include:

  • Hormonal deficiencies caused by testicular disease, liver disease or thyroid problems.Neurological problems such as Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke or Parkinson’s disease.
  • Trauma to the pelvic area as experienced in certain types of surgery, radiation therapy or automobile accidents resulting in damaged pelvic nerves or arteries.
  • Chronic illnesses such as chronic liver disease, chronic renal disease, etc.
  • Peyronie’s plaque or disease, a peculiar condition of excessive fibrosis in the penile tissue

Natural erectile dysfunction can occur in a completely healthy person, both physically and psychologically. Since the penis is an external end-point for circulation, many in the scientific community feel that penile circulation may be particularly unstable, similar to how some experience poor circulation in end-appendages like the feet. It may not take much over the years to cause a partial obstruction to blood flow to the penis, resulting in erectile difficulty and a need for impotence help.

If you experience any symptoms of erectile dysfunction problems, contact Boston Medical Group for a complete causal diagnosis of your sex health problems.