Female sexual dysfunction: A nontraditional risk factor for cardiovascular disease

Although a plethora of data support the link between male erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD), no studies specifically address a link between female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and CVD, which is the number one cause of death in women. To explore the hypothesis that FSD, specifically arousal or orgasmic disorders of a vascular etiology, may predict CVD, we examined the literature. All PubMed articles through February 2008 that reported on vascular sexual dysfunction and CVD were reviewed. Search terms included “endothelial dysfunction” and “sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disease.” The review showed the following: 1) Erectile dysfunction due to endothelial dysfunction predicts CVD in men. 2) Preeclampsia, polycystic ovary syndrome, and surgical menopause (with endothelial dysfunction and the underlying pathophysiology) serve as nontraditional risk factors in predicting CVD in women. 3) Atherosclerosis, hypertension, and the metabolic syndrome via endothelial dysfunction cause arousal and orgasmic disorders in women. These results point to the reasonable conclusion that FSD, specifically arousal and orgasmic disorders related to endothelial dysfunction, is a nontraditional risk factor for CVD.