Word parts
What it means
A common condition that becomes more likely with age. It often comes from reduced blood flow or nerve damage, as with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and smoking, and can also follow prostate surgery or come from drugs, low testosterone, depression or anxiety. It can be an early sign of heart disease. Treatments include lifestyle change, pills, devices, injections and counseling.
For the nurse
Ask about it privately and without judgment, since clients often do not raise it. Drugs such as sildenafil and tadalafil must never be taken with nitrates such as nitroglycerin, because together they can cause a severe drop in blood pressure.
At a glance
| Spanish | disfunción eréctil |
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Related terms
dys-
A word beginning that means difficult, painful or not working normally.
hypertension
Blood pressure that stays higher than normal, at or above 130/80 mm Hg by current US guidelines.
diabetes mellitus
A long-term disease in which blood glucose stays high because the body makes too little insulin or cannot use it well.
prostate
A walnut-sized gland below the bladder in males that surrounds the urethra and makes part of the fluid in semen.