Dr. Fagin Checkup
Interviewer: -- at your medical checkup with Dr Fagin, and joining in us here to sort out some medical problems is Dr Randy Fagin. Thank you so much --
Dr. Fagin: Good morning.
Interviewer: -- for joining us. And we've got a sensitive topic to discuss today.
Dr. Fagin: Yeah.
Interviewer: October is National Impotence Month.
Dr. Fagin: Yeah.
Interviewer: So let's get right to it, how significant a problem is that?
Dr. Fagin: It's actually a huge problem. You know, over 18 million American men are affected by ED. And it goes with right along with the age groups; about 40 per cent of guys in their 40s, or 50 percent in their 50s, 60 percent in their 60s -- it is a significant health issue.
Interviewer: Yeah, and I know part of the problem is there's sort of a -- people sort of giggle when they hear it, and sort of funny to talk about. But if it's your problem, it's not the least bit funny.
Dr. Fagin: No, no, it's actually very, very big deal. And what's important to know about ED is that it's not just about the symptom. The symptom actually maybe an underlying factor that's causing it. So guys that have ED need to understand, you know, over 70 percent of men who have cardiovascular disease have ED. Over 60 percent of men who are admitted to the hospital with a heart attack had prior ED, over a half of guys who have diabetes have ED.
So there are a lot of folks walking around there with ED as a symptom, but they don't know what the underlying cause is, which makes it terribly important to go to their primary care doctor and discuss this.
Interviewer: So it's not something easy, people should just live with and maybe keep it a private issue between --
Dr. Fagin: Oh no, it's terribly important now. I mean 20 percent or so of cases of ED are actually truly psychological in nature. I mean, stress, depression, anxiety; all these things contribute to ED.
But that's not always the case. There often are underlying factors. I mean ED can be thought of as cardiovascular disease below the belt. So if you've got ED, you need to at least discuss it with your primary care doctor, so he can run some basic tests, and EKGs and blood work, blood pressure, some real basic things that can help us to the side -- is this just something that's on your head or is this something that's just a symptom of a bigger underlying problem.
Interviewer: So it could actually unlock the door to a much more significant problem that you need to take care of.
Dr. Fagin: Well, absolutely.
Interviewer: Yeah. Now, I see ads on TV all the time for Viagra, Cialis, all those drugs; are you a fan of those -- that whole, I guess, genre of drugs?
Dr. Fagin: Well, the drugs do a marvelous job. They really are very, very good at treating the symptom. However, again, we need to understand why they are having it. If we understand why they're having it, the drugs are very, very safe and very, very effective.
Interviewer: Is it hard to convince men to go into be treated, to talk about something that's that personal?
Dr. Fagin: It is, but I think if we get the message out there that this is not just you, this is 18 million American men -- and this can be a sign of other things. You know, you're not alone and your health needs to come first.
So to live a long, healthy life, just talk to your doctors about these simple issues. It may just be something as simple as taking a little pill to help you out, but there maybe something else going on there as well.
Interviewer: Maybe a simple solution, may be a lifesaver, huh?
Dr. Fagin: Absolutely.
Interviewer: Excellent. Anything else you think people need to know today, our listeners? Sounds like if you've got an issue, get to your doctor.
Dr. Fagin: Yeah, I mean, our theme, throughout the entire series that we have been doing is all about prevention. If you can diagnose something before it becomes a major problem, far easier to treat it than if it's left to go on for a long time.
Interviewer: And even though it may be a little sensitive to discuss, still, get to the doctor.
Dr. Fagin: Very, very important to talk about.
Interviewer: Your doctor's heard it before, and doctor maybe able to save your life.
Dr. Fagin: Absolutely.
Interviewer: Well, Dr Fagin, thank you so much for joining us this morning, important information.
Dr. Fagin: You bet, have a wonderful day.
Interviewer: You too, thank you so much.