High blood pressure often has no obvious symptoms, but its impact on your sex life can be obvious. Although sexual activity rarely poses a health risk, hypertension can greatly interfere with the enjoyment of sex.
Over time, high blood pressure damages the lining of the blood vessels and causes the arteries to harden and narrow. The condition is called atherosclerosis and is one of the culprits in restricting blood flow to the penis. For some men, this reduced circulation makes it very difficult to achieve and maintain an erection, a physiological condition known as erectile dysfunction.
Even a single episode of erectile dysfunction can cause severe stress. The fear that it will happen again causes some to avoid sex, which can exacerbate the problem and alienate the partner.
Hypertension can also make it difficult to ejaculate and reduce sex drive. Often, blood medications have the same effect.
Women with high blood pressure also experience problems in their sex lives. Their hypertension can lead to decreased libido, vaginal dryness, and difficulty achieving orgasm.
Some medications to treat the condition have similar effects: diuretics lower the body’s levels of zinc, an element important in the formation of the sex hormone testosterone; beta-blockers, on the other hand, can affect the nervous system and cause erections in men.
However, they, like the most popular drugs, have their own alternatives and if such side effects occur, after consulting a doctor, they can be replaced with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin II receptor blockers, or alpha-blockers. .
It is important that every man consults a doctor before using erectile dysfunction medications. Although sildenafil-based drugs such as Viagra, vardenafil in Levitra, or tadalafil in Cialis are safe to combine with high blood pressure medications, taking them with nitrates can be dangerous. Some of the nitrates in chest pain medications, when combined with the medications above, can cause life-threatening sudden drops in blood pressure.
Although these medicines do not cure the disease itself, may only relieve some of its symptoms, changes in personal habits can do so. Stopping or drastically limiting cigarettes, eating a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and limiting salt are effective measures to lower blood pressure, returning it to normal without interfering with sexual activity.
