Chronic heart failure (HF) appears as a common, complex clinical syndrome which is characterized by fatigue and exercise intolerance. Generally, patients diagnosed with HF report a decline in libido and erectile dysfunction (ED). A recent study now claims that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) can improve libido, erectile dysfunction and sexual performance among men suffering from HF.
In order to test the efficacy of CRT on libido and ED, 31 male patients with advanced HF were implanted with a CRT device. They were monitored before and six months after CRT. On the six-month follow-up after CRT, 23 patients allegedly had no ED, and only two patients had moderate ED. Scientists mention that none of the participants suffered from severe ED.
Ahmet Vural, lead investigator and colleagues observed a significant raise in normal libido among 25 men with improvement and 3 having normal libido prior to CRT. It was concluded that CRT dramatically enhances libido, ED and sexual performance as a consequence of the improvement in functional capacity and ejection fraction. Experts mention that CRT not only reduces mortality in heart failure patients, but also produces improvement in the sexual health of the patient’s life.
The study is published in the journal Clinical Cardiology.