The Princeton III Consensus recommendations for the management of erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease

Abstract

The Princeton Consensus (Expert Panel) Conference is a multispecialty collaborative tradition dedicated to optimizing sexual function and preserving cardiovascular health. The third Princeton Consensus met November 8 to 10, 2010, and had 2 primary objectives. The first objective focused on the evaluation and management of cardiovascular risk in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and no known cardiovascular disease (CVD), with particular emphasis on identification of men with ED who may require additional cardiologic work-up. The second objective focused on reevaluation and modification of previous recommendations for evaluation of cardiac risk associated with sexual activity in men with known CVD. The Panel's recommendations build on those developed during the first and second Princeton Consensus Conferences, first emphasizing the use of exercise ability and stress testing to ensure that each man's cardiovascular health is consistent with the physical demands of sexual activity before prescribing treatment for ED, and second highlighting the link between ED and CVD, which may be asymptomatic and may benefit from cardiovascular risk reduction.

FIGURE

Management of erectile dysfunction (ED) in all men with ED, especially those with known cardiovascular disease. ^aSexual activity is equivalent to walking 1 mile on the flat in 20 minutes or briskly climbing 2 flights of stairs in 10 seconds. ^bSexual activity is equivalent to 4 minutes of the Bruce treadmill protocol.