Abstract
According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of deaths worldwide. Current clinical practice guidelines recommend statin therapy for all patients with established atherosclerotic CVD and allow its use for lipid profile modification in the context of primary CVD prevention. Erectile dysfunction among middle-aged and older men commonly shares key pathogenetic mechanisms with CVD, including atherosclerosis/arteriosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, and increased arterial stiffness. At the same time, statins, which reduce the risk of CVD complications, have persistently been perceived as having an adverse impact on erectile function. However, as of today, there is a limited number of studies that have evaluated the effects of statins on erectile function using objective longitudinal assessments. Two men with high cardiovascular risk, aged 45 (patient P.) and 51 (patient N.) years, with different adherence to prescribed statin therapy, were presented. Both patients were initially prescribed rosuvastatin 20 mg once daily with further titration after 3 months to 40 mg/day due to the failure to achieve target lipid levels. Lipid profile testing, subjective and objective assessment of erectile function, evaluation of central arterial stiffness, and endothelial function were performed before statin initiation and at 3 and 6 months thereafter. Patient P. with a high level of adherence to statin therapy showed a persistent decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, pulse wave velocity, accompanied by improvement in endothelial function parameters and objective erectile function parameters as assessed by nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring using the Androscan-MIT device (Minimally Invasive Technologies LLC, Russia). Patient N. exhibited low adherence; none of the follow-up assessments demonstrated sustained changes over the observation period. The findings of this clinical observation support further investigation of the impact of statin therapy on erectile function in men at high and very high cardiovascular risk using nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring within a prospective study design.
Keywords: case report, statins, erectile function, endothelial function, arterial stiffness, compliance.
For citation:Raevskiy K.P., Strigunov A.A., Orlova Ia.A., Kamalov A.A., Chaliy M.E. The effect of statin therapy on erectile function in middle-aged men: clinical cases. Clinical review for general practice. 2026; 7 (5): 90–93 (In Russ.). DOI: 10.47407/kr2026.7.5.00846
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