ED – Erectile Dysfunction: Diagnosis

A good history and physical examination is essential for diagnosing ED, with particular attention to blood pressure, signs of blood flow problems to other areas of the body, signs of low testosterone (small testicles, breast enlargement) or presence of hard plaques in the penis.

If not already done by your primary care doctor, we may order blood tests, including a lipid panel, a fasting blood sugar or Hemoglobin A1c (tests for Diabetes), a testosterone level. Additional tests may be selectively ordered depending upon your circumstance. Occasionally, we do vascular studies of the penile arteries or veins, but in most cases, poor arterial inflow or venous leak problems cannot be corrected with vascular surgery. If it appears that anxiety, stress, depression, emotional problem, or marital problems are related, we may ask for the help of a sexual counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist.

ED can be an early sign of generalized blood flow problems, so we may ask your primary care doctor or cardiologist to consider cardiac stress testing.