Is your high blood pressure medication affecting more than just your heart?
If you’ve started noticing changes in the bedroom after being prescribed medications like amlodipine, it might not be in your head. In this episode, we take a closer look at the unexpected link between erectile dysfunction and blood pressure treatment. Could your medication be the cause, or is something else going on? We’re breaking down what you really need to know about how certain prescriptions impact your sexual health, and what steps you can take to protect it.
Tune in now for an eye-opening conversation you won’t hear at your regular check-up.
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This podcast is for you, the Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne Truong,
Speaker:your host. I'm an intimate health medical doctor and best
Speaker:selling author of the book, Erectile Dysfunction Fix. I'll
Speaker:do a deep dive into sexual health and performance and how
Speaker:it affects men of all ages and backgrounds. So let's get
Speaker:started, and be sure to visit my website at
Speaker:sexualhealthformenpodcast.com for more information and
Speaker:resources from the show. See you on the inside.
Speaker:Hello there, Modern Man. I'm Dr Anne Truong. I've treated over
Speaker:7000 men with ED. In today's episode, we're going to answer
Speaker:the question, "Can the high blood pressure medicine called
Speaker:amlodipine cause ED? I get this questions a lot, and I want to
Speaker:review, what is high blood pressure and what medicine that
Speaker:you take for high blood pressure that contribute to ED.
Speaker:Now, in August of 2025, American College of Cardiology, as well
Speaker:as American Heart Association, came out with new guidelines
Speaker:that will define what high blood pressure is. So normal blood
Speaker:pressure is considered 120 over 80. It used to be higher, but
Speaker:now it's lowering down to 120 over 80. And if the top number,
Speaker:which is systolic number, is higher than 120 to 129 that
Speaker:means that you are at risk for high blood pressure. You are an
Speaker:early stage of high blood pressure. That's it, even if the
Speaker:bottom number is 80 or lower. Now, if your blood pressure the
Speaker:top number is above 129 to 139 then you have high blood
Speaker:pressure. Or if your blood pressure is over 80, the bottom
Speaker:number, then you have stage one, high blood pressure. Now stage
Speaker:two high blood pressure, which is one of the more concerning,
Speaker:is anything over 140 systolic number, and then the bottom
Speaker:number is over 90. So the numbers are lower now, but
Speaker:they're finding that early intervention of high blood
Speaker:pressure can really help with longevity and death. And so it's
Speaker:more important, if you have high blood pressure, with high
Speaker:cholesterol and also with diabetes, you really need to
Speaker:manage the blood pressure.
Speaker:Now one medication tend to cause ED, and a lot of people ask
Speaker:about amlodipine. Now amlodipine, is a calcium channel
Speaker:blocker, so it lower blood pressure by releasing box
Speaker:calcium. So the evidence is mixed, and the risk appears to
Speaker:be low that it can contribute to ED. It's mixed because there was
Speaker:some study that showed that men taking amlodipine have a higher
Speaker:occurrence of sexual dysfunction, and then there's
Speaker:another study that shows that it does not. So it is a little
Speaker:mixed, but amlodipine, taken for long term, does reduce
Speaker:testosterone level as well. And in a major clinical trial, which
Speaker:is TOMHS, found amlodipine group had 26% decrease in sexual
Speaker:activity through two years. So higher than most other
Speaker:treatment. The bottom line is the comprehensive research shows
Speaker:that amlodipine does not significantly increase the risk
Speaker:of ED compared to other antihypertensive medication. So
Speaker:that's good news. It's very well tolerated. You can usually take
Speaker:it with Viagra or Cialis. You shouldn't take both of it when
Speaker:you're taking blood pressure medicine, but it does reduce
Speaker:testosterone level with long term use. So that is important
Speaker:Then the other question is, what medication tend to contribute
Speaker:to know.
Speaker:more to ED? The number one is thiazide diuretic. Medication
Speaker:that thiazide class that tend to have you go to the bathroom to
Speaker:lower your blood pressure, and they usually end with the word
Speaker:thiazide in there. The second class is called beta blocker,
Speaker:which lower your heart rate, but then, by lowering the heart
Speaker:rate, also affect your erection. So how does the diuretic affect
Speaker:your erection? So they usually go by the name of
Speaker:hydrochlorothiazide or chlorthalidone. They are the
Speaker:worst offenders for ED, research shows. Because in the landmark
Speaker:study called the TOMHS, found that men on chlorthalidone has
Speaker:26% decrease in sexual activity over two years, and men taking
Speaker:thiazide are twice as likely to have ED compared to those of
Speaker:other blood pressure medicine. And they're more than double the
Speaker:incidence of non compliance because of the side effect. Now
Speaker:I'm not saying you stop the medication. Please do not stop
Speaker:the medication. If you're on thiazide, you're on beta
Speaker:blocker, don't stop your blood pressure medicine. Always
Speaker:discuss with your doctor first. That is the most important
Speaker:thing, because if you stop your blood pressure medicine, you're
Speaker:going to start having a hypertensive episode. You're
Speaker:going to start having a heart attack. You're going to may even
Speaker:have a stroke. So do not do that without discussing with your
Speaker:doctor All right. Now, thiazide medication can also cause lower
Speaker:testosterone level because it affects the absorption of zinc,
Speaker:and it also decrease blood volume because you're urinating
Speaker:it all out, so therefore it decreases blood flow to the
Speaker:penis, and it also lower testosterone. Now the second
Speaker:offender the beta blockers, they're usually the one that end
Speaker:with -lol, like Metoprolol, Atenolol and Propranolol are the
Speaker:one that cause a higher rate of ED. Atenolol cause a little bit
Speaker:lower. Now, there's no medication called Nebivolol
Speaker:stands out as the exception and does not increase ED risk. Now,
Speaker:the beta blocker reduce blood flow by decreasing the heart
Speaker:rate and how the heart pump out the blood. But by doing that,
Speaker:the beta blocker actually interfere with the nerve signals
Speaker:needed for erection, and it can also reduce testosterone levels
Speaker:in some cases as well. And the class, like the calcium channel
Speaker:blockers, are less likely to cause ED. And another class of
Speaker:blood pressure medicines are called the ACE inhibitors, like
Speaker:lisinopril or enalapril or Angiotensin Receptor Blocker, or
Speaker:called ARB, like valsartan or losartan, have neutral effect on
Speaker:sexual function. So please talk with your doctor first before
Speaker:you do anything, and maybe your doctor can switch you over to
Speaker:something like ACE inhibitors or an ARB if you're on the thiazide
Speaker:diuretic and the beta blocker. Okay, my husband's on Atenolol
Speaker:at this point. So far, it hasn't affected his function yet. He
Speaker:also has heart issue. That's why he is on the heart medication.
Speaker:To summarize, the highest blood pressure medicine that
Speaker:contribute to ED are the thiazide diuretic, and then
Speaker:followed by beta blockers, less involved on the calcium channel
Speaker:blockers, the ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.
Speaker:Please talk with your doctor about your blood pressure
Speaker:medicine if you feel that it's affecting your erection, and
Speaker:maybe consider a conversation with your doctor about switching
Speaker:to medication that affect erectile function the least. So,
Speaker:having said that, just know the new guidelines about the new
Speaker:high blood pressure. If you're over 120, over 80, then you have
Speaker:high blood pressure. So the guidelines are now lower.
Speaker:So how do you really treat high blood pressure? Exercise. Yes,
Speaker:in my last episode, I talked about how exercise alone is the
Speaker:one intervention that you can do to treat ED. But if you
Speaker:exercise, it will also lower your blood pressure as well. So
Speaker:you don't even have to take the blood pressure medicine. If you
Speaker:exercise, you lose weight, so you don't need to take the blood
Speaker:pressure medicine. You may even have reduce your blood sugars.
Speaker:You may not even need to take your diabetic medication as
Speaker:well. Okay? So exercise is key, followed by eating a
Speaker:Mediterranean diet, which is recommended by the American
Speaker:Heart Association for heart health as well as diabetes
Speaker:prevention as well.
Speaker:So having said that, I hope you find this episode useful, and
Speaker:look at your medication. And just know that you do not have
Speaker:to suffer with ED in silence. You do not have to suffer with
Speaker:ED on your own. And check out our Modern Man Crib here, which
Speaker:is the URL ednomore.com to check out the penis pump, which is a
Speaker:device that you can use to treat ED, along with exercise and
Speaker:along with Mediterranean diet. Check out the link to the
Speaker:Mediterranean diet here. I want to provide you with all the
Speaker:information and the tools that you need to beat ED. Most people
Speaker:do not know what to do. I am here as a resource, and my
Speaker:mission is to create a sexual revolution, to make sexual
Speaker:health information accessible and to simplify a complex issue
Speaker:to something that you can do at home to start treating your ED
Speaker:at this point. ED is treatable and it is reversible. Just know
Speaker:that you can do that. So having said that, check out the Modern
Speaker:Man Crib at ednomore.com and just know you do not have to
Speaker:suffer in silence, Modern Man. So I will see you next episode,
Speaker:and make sure you press that subscribe button and
Speaker:notification button to be alert when our next episode will come
Speaker:out. I'll see you in the next episode.
Speaker:Okay, Modern Man, you are not alone and you don't have to
Speaker:suffer anymore. ED can feel isolating, frustrating, and even
Speaker:defeating. The endless guessing, the quiet shame, the weight of
Speaker:not feeling like yourself is exhausting. But here's the
Speaker:truth, you are not broken. You are not alone. You don't have to
Speaker:figure this out alone anymore. The Get Wood Now Boost Program
Speaker:is your step by step, path to sexual confidence and
Speaker:restoration. No more suffering in silence, no more trial and
Speaker:error, just real solution, real result and the confidence you
Speaker:deserve. It's time to take back your power on your term. Let's
Speaker:get this journey started together. Check out the course
Speaker:at getwoodnow.com. I'll see you there.
Speaker:Thanks for listening to the Sexual Health for Men Podcast.
Speaker:If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your
Speaker:phone and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever you post,
Speaker:and be sure to tag me and let me know why you like this episode
Speaker:and what you like to hear in the future. That will help me know
Speaker:what's great for you and I would love to give you the most
Speaker:incredible free gift designed to help you improve performance
Speaker:quickly. Go to my website at sexualhealthformenpodcast.com to
Speaker:get the book, The Five Common Costly Mistakes Men Make When
Speaker:Facing ED. I would appreciate if you subscribe, leave a review on
Speaker:Apple podcasts or wherever you listen. And just know that you
Speaker:can have sexual vitality for life. I appreciate you until
Speaker:next time.