Right Ventricular Function and Sexual Function: Exploring Shadows in Male and Female Patients With Heart Failure

Identifying and responding to the sexual reproductive health needs of women with heart disease: A qualitative study

Background:

Recognizing the needs of women with heart disease in the field of reproductive health and meeting them can reduce the related complications. The aim of this study was to identify the sexual and reproductive health needs of these women.

Materials and Methods:

The present study was conducted with qualitative approach (Content analysis). Ten married women of reproductive age with heart disease and 20 providers and managers in, Isfahan, Iran, were selected by using purposive and snowball methods (in 2020). The research setting included heart disease clinics, offices of health team, comprehensive health centers, and the Isfahan Maternal Health Department. Data were collected by semi-structured individual face-to-face interviews in the clinic or other appropriate locations. Some interviews were conducted virtually. Analysis was performed by Qualitative contentment analysis / Conventional content analysis.

Results:

Sexual and reproductive health needs of women with heart disease were emerged in five main categories, “planned childbearing,” “ssociocultural support,” “Early reproductive health care of girls,” “health team attention to sexual health,” and “health system revision.”

Conclusions:

Providing comprehensive reproductive health services before and during pregnancy, family planning, and sexual health for women with heart disease is necessary. It seems that using a multidisciplinary team approach could improve their reproductive health.

Interactions between erectile dysfunction, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular drugs

Sexual health has a fundamental role in overall health and well-being, and a healthy and dynamic sex life can make an important contribution to a good quality of life. Sexual dysfunction, and especially erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, is highly prevalent in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD and ED have shared risk factors and pathophysiological links, such as endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and low plasma testosterone levels. ED has been shown to be an independent and early harbinger of future CVD events, providing an important window to initiate preventive measures. Therefore, screening and diagnosing ED is essential for the primary and secondary prevention of CVD because the assessment of ED offers an easy and low-cost prognostic tool that is an alternative to other investigational cardiovascular biomarkers. Moreover, ED is a major contributing factor to the discontinuation of, or poor adherence to, cardiovascular therapy. Cardiovascular drugs have divergent effects on erectile function, with diuretics and β-blockers having the worst profiles, and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors and nebivolol having the best profiles. Pharmacological treatment of ED has an equivocal effect on the risk of CVD, suggesting a complex interaction between ED and drugs for CVD. In this Review, we discuss how sexual function could be incorporated into the patient history taken by physicians treating individuals with CVD, not merely as part of the diagnostic work-up but as a means to pursue tangible and essential benefits in quality of life and cardiovascular outcomes.

Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with pulmonary hypertension and associated factors

BACKGROUND

Pulmonary hypertension is a progressive, and disabling disease, however, there is little knowledge about impaired sexual function in this population.

AIM

To identify the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and the association between sexual dysfunction level and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study with 71 women diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension without signs of clinical decompensation was carried out. Sexual function was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and functional capacity was assessed by 6-minute walk test. The relationships between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics with sexual function was performed using statistical tests. A p-value <0.05 was considered as significant.

RESULTS

71.8% of patients self-reported sexual dysfunction as indicated as a score of <26.55 points on FSFI. Women with sexual dysfunction were older, higher average age of their last menstruation, had worse functional class, shorter distance covered and worse Borg score at the end of the 6-minute walk test.

CONCLUSION

There is evident impairment of sexual function self-reported by women with pH and the association of this condition with a decline in functional capacity was identified.

Update of the position paper on arterial hypertension and erectile dysfunction

: Sexual health is an integral part of overall health, and an active and healthy sexual life is an essential aspect of a good life quality. Cardiovascular disease and sexual health share common risk factors (arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity, and smoking) and common mediating mechanisms (endothelial dysfunction, subclinical inflammation, and atherosclerosis). This generated a shift of thinking about the pathophysiology and subsequently the management of sexual dysfunction. The introduction of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors revolutionized the management of sexual dysfunction in men. This article will focus on erectile dysfunction and its association with arterial hypertension. This update of the position paper was created by the Working Group on Sexual Dysfunction and Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension. This working group has been very active during the last years in promoting the familiarization of hypertension specialists and related physicians with erectile dysfunction, through numerous lectures in national and international meetings, a position paper, newsletters, guidelines, and a book specifically addressing erectile dysfunction in hypertensive patients. It was noted that erectile dysfunction precedes the development of coronary artery disease. The artery size hypothesis has been proposed as a potential explanation for this observation. This hypothesis seeks to explain the differing manifestation of the same vascular condition, based on the size of the vessels. Clinical presentations of the atherosclerotic and/or endothelium disease in the penile arteries might precede the corresponding manifestations from larger arteries. Treated hypertensive patients are more likely to have sexual dysfunction compared with untreated ones, suggesting a detrimental role of antihypertensive treatment on erectile function. The occurrence of erectile dysfunction seems to be related to undesirable effects of antihypertensive drugs on the penile tissue. Available information points toward divergent effects of antihypertensive drugs on erectile function, with diuretics and beta-blockers possessing the worst profile and angiotensin receptor blockers and nebivolol the best profile.