The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7356 p8
2 July 2005

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Older antihypertensive drugs more likely to cause erectile dysfunction than newer agents

Older antihypertensives — and combinations of agents — are more likely to cause erectile dysfunction (ED) than some of the newer agents, according to new research.

A Greek study assessed 358 young and middle-aged men (mean age 49.1 years) with hypertension, who were asked to fill in a standard questionnaire about ED. Nearly one in six (89/358) of the men were not yet taking any antihypertensive medicines. Nearly half (160/358) were taking monotherapy. Of these, around 25 per cent were on beta-blockers, 25 per cent on calcium antagonists and a similar proportion were on angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. A small number were taking diuretics or angiotensin receptor blockers. Nearly one-third of the group were taking combination antihypertensive therapy.

Results showed that 19.8 per cent of men not on drug treatment for their hypertension had ED compared with 36.3 per cent of men on one antihypertensive and 46.7 per cent of those on combination therapy. ED was more frequent in men on older drugs (diuretics and beta-blockers) than those on newer agents (calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers).

Data were presented at the European Meeting on Hypertension in Milan last week.
Lorna Smalley, medicines management pharmacist, Greater and Central Derby Primary Care Trust, said: “Since I began prescribing the number of patients with ED has surprised me. Careful counselling regarding potential side effects before prescribing and at follow up is essential if we are to prevent problems that may impair compliance.”