Recent studies report that erectile dysfunction or impotence may be a sign of serious heart disease.

Cardiologist Steven Longobardi says that "impotence has a lot of different causes, one of the main one's that we're concerned with as a cardiologist is vascular problems."

Doctors who treat impotent men should examine the possibility that the patient could be in the early stages of developing heart disease. Urologist William Evans explains, "In men who have problems with their blood supply, usually with atherosclerosis and hardening of the arteries impotence is one of the things that can occur first."

Dr. Evans says that the link between erectile dysfunction and your heart health just proves that shouldn't put off seeing your doctor just because you're embarrassed. "They're probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 30 million men in the country that have problems with this and it obviously becomes more prevalent in the older age."

Dr. Evans also says there are numerous conditions and diseases that can cause the side effect of impotence, either temporary or permanent. You should talk to your physician about your overall health and what options might be best for you. "The treatments are better. There are more drugs available. And they are for the most part, they are pretty well tolerated."

You shouldn't rush out to fix the problem thinking all you need is a prescription because you may be ignoring a more threatening condition.

Many men think this is a condition they just have to live with, it is estimated that only about 10% see a doctor for treatment.