Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

1 Physiology of Erection and Causes of Erectile Dysfunction.- 2 Erectile Dysfunction: The Scope of the Problem.- 3 Erectile Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.- 4 Psychologic Aspects of Erectile Dysfunction in Heart Patients.- 5 Management of Erectile Dysfunction: An Overview.- 6 Sildenafil Citrate and the Nitric Oxide/Cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate Signaling Pathway.- 7 Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibition: Importance to the Cardiovascular System.- 8 The Hemodynamics of Phosphodiesterase-PDE5 Inhibitors.- 9 Cardiovascular Safety of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitors.- 10 Effect of Phosphodiesterase-5 Inhibition on Coronary Blood Flow in Experimental Animals.- 11 Safety and Hemodynamic Effects of Sildenafil in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.- 12 Cardiovascular Effects of Nonphosphodiesterase-5 Inhibitor Erectile Dysfunction Therapies.- 13 Potential Cardiac Applications of Phosphodiesterase Type-5 Inhibition.- 14 The Physiologic Cost of Sexual Activity.- 15 Sexual Activity As a Trigger of Myocardial Infarction/Ischemia: Implications for Treating Erectile Dysfunction.- 16 Sex After Cardiac Events and Procedures: Counseling From the Cardiovascular Specialist's Perspective.- 17 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines on the Use of Sildenafil in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease.- 18 Risk of Heart Attack After Sexual Activity: The Princeton Guidelines and Their Rationale.

Senior physicians, cardiologists, urologists, psychologists, and pharmacologists critically review the relation between heart disease and erectile dysfunction (ED) and explain for the practicing physician the effective new treatment options available for the cardiac patient with ED. The authors detail in concise language the latest thinking about the risk of sexually induced cardiac events, the efficacy and risks to cardiac patients of drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction, and the expert guidelines developed by prominent organizations on the optimal approach to sexual dysfunction in the cardiac patient. They also discuss the physiology of ED and the currently available therapies (sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil) may interact with the cardiac system, and the potential application of newer agents like phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors to cardiovascular disease.