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Having erection trouble from time to time isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. If erectile dysfunction is an ongoing issue, however, it can cause stress, affect your self-confidence and contribute to relationship problems. Problems getting or keeping an erection can also be a sign of an underlying health condition that needs treatment and a risk factor for heart disease

• Erectile dysfunction symptoms might include persistent:
  • Trouble getting an erection
  • Trouble keeping an erection
  • Reduced sexual desire

Sometimes a combination of physical and psychological issues causes erectile dysfunction. For instance, a minor physical condition that slows your sexual response might cause anxiety about maintaining an erection. The resulting anxiety can lead to or worsen erectile dysfunction.

Physical causes of erectile dysfunction

In many cases, erectile dysfunction is caused by something physical. Common causes include:

• Heart disease
• Clogged blood vessels (atherosclerosis)
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome — a condition involving increased blood pressure, high insulin levels, body fat around the waist and high cholesterol
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Certain prescription medications
• Tobacco use
• Peyronie’s disease — development of scar tissue inside the penis
• Alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse
• Sleep disorders
• Treatments for prostate cancer or enlarged prostate
• Surgeries or injuries that affect the pelvic area or spinal cord

Psychological causes of erectile dysfunction

The brain plays a key role in triggering the series of physical events that cause an erection, starting with feelings of sexual excitement. A number of things can interfere with sexual feelings and cause or worsen erectile dysfunction. These include:

• Depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions
• Stress
• Relationship problems due to stress, poor communication or other concerns

• As you get older, erections might take longer to develop and might not be as firm. You might need more direct touch to your penis to get and keep an erection.

  Various risk factors can contribute to erectile dysfunction, including:

  • Medical conditions, particularly diabetes or heart conditions
  • Tobacco use, which restricts blood flow to veins and arteries, can — over time — cause chronic health conditions that lead to erectile dysfunction
  • Being overweight, especially if you’re obese
  • Certain medical treatments, such as prostate surgery or radiation treatment for cancer
  • Injuries, particularly if they damage the nerves or arteries that control erections
  • Medications, including antidepressants, antihistamines and medications to treat high blood pressure, pain or prostate conditions
  • Psychological conditions, such as stress, anxiety or depression
  • Drug and alcohol use, especially if you’re a long-term drug user or heavy drinker

• The best way to prevent erectile dysfunction is to make healthy lifestyle choices and to manage any existing health conditions. For example:
  • Work with your doctor to manage diabetes, heart disease or other chronic health conditions.
  • See your doctor for regular checkups and medical screening tests.
  • Stop smoking, limit or avoid alcohol, and don’t use illegal drugs.
  • Exercise regularly.
  • Take steps to reduce stress.
  • Get help for anxiety, depression or other mental health concerns

Oral medications are a successful erectile dysfunction treatment for many men. They include:

• Sildenafil (Viagra)
• Tadalafil (Adcirca, Cialis)
• Vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn)
• Avanafil (Stendra)

All four medications enhance the effects of nitric oxide — a natural chemical your body produces that relaxes muscles in the penis. This increases blood flow and allows you to get an erection in response to sexual stimulation.

Taking one of these tablets will not automatically produce an erection. Sexual stimulation is needed first to cause the release of nitric oxide from your penile nerves. These medications amplify that signal, allowing some men to function normally. Oral erectile dysfunction medications are not aphrodisiacs, will not cause excitement and are not needed in men who get normal erections.

The medications vary in dosage, how long they work and side effects. Possible side effects include flushing, nasal congestion, headache, visual changes, backache and stomach upset.

Your doctor will consider your particular situation to determine which medication might work best. These medications might not treat your erectile dysfunction immediately. You might need to work with your doctor to find the right medication and dosage for you.

Before taking any medication for erectile dysfunction, including over-the-counter supplements and herbal remedies, get your doctor’s OK. Medications for erectile dysfunction do not work in all men and might be less effective in certain conditions, such as after prostate surgery or if you have diabetes. Some medications might also be dangerous if you:

• Take nitrate drugs — commonly prescribed for chest pain (angina) — such as nitroglycerin (Minitran, Nitro-Dur, Nitrostat, others), isosorbide mononitrate (Monoket) and isosorbide dinitrate (Dilatrate-SR, Isordil)
• Have heart disease or heart failure
• Have very low blood pressure (hypotension)

Penis pumps, surgery and implants

If medications aren’t effective or appropriate in your case, your doctor might recommend a different treatment. Other treatments include:

• Penis pumps. A penis pump (vacuum erection device) is a hollow tube with a hand-powered or battery-powered pump. The tube is placed over your penis, and then the pump is used to suck out the air inside the tube. This creates a vacuum that pulls blood into your penis.

Once you get an erection, you slip a tension ring around the base of your penis to hold in the blood and keep it firm. You then remove the vacuum device.

The erection typically lasts long enough for a couple to have sex. You remove the tension ring after intercourse. Bruising of the penis is a possible side effect, and ejaculation will be restricted by the band. Your penis might feel cold to the touch.

If a penis pump is a good treatment choice for you, your doctor might recommend or prescribe a specific model. That way, you can be sure it suits your needs and that it’s made by a reputable manufacturer.

• Penile implants. This treatment involves surgically placing devices into both sides of the penis. These implants consist of either inflatable or malleable (bendable) rods. Inflatable devices allow you to control when and how long you have an erection. The malleable rods keep your penis firm but bendable.

Penile implants are usually not recommended until other methods have been tried first. Implants have a high degree of satisfaction among men who have tried and failed more-conservative therapies. As with any surgery, there’s a risk of complications, such as infection.

Shockwave therapy

Shockwave therapy is the first-line therapy of ED in European Association of Urology (EAU) guideline.

Treatment consists of noninvasive low-intensity shock waves that pass through erectile tissue, restoring natural erectile function by clearing plaque out of blood vessels and encouraging the growth of new blood vessels. The shockwave treatment offers a cure in that it reverses the problems that cause the dysfunction in the first place — the most desired win-win outcome coveted by men with ED.

Recently, the use of low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (LI-SWT) was proposed as a novel treatment for ED. In the first randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study, it was demonstrated that LI-SWT had a positive short-term clinical and physiological effect on the erectile function of men who respond to PDE5Is. Moreover, there are preliminary data showing improvement in penile haemodynamics and endothelial function, as well as IIEF erectile function domain score in severe ED patients who are poor responders to PDE5Is.

Exercise

Recent studies have found that exercise, especially moderate to vigorous aerobic activity, can improve erectile dysfunction. However, benefits might be less in some men, including those with established heart disease or other significant medical conditions.

Even less strenuous, regular exercise might reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction. Increasing your level of activity might also further reduce your risk.

Discuss an exercise plan with your doctor.

Psychological counseling

If your erectile dysfunction is caused by stress, anxiety or depression — or the condition is creating stress and relationship tension — your doctor might suggest that you, or you and your partner, visit a psychologist or counselor.