New Study Links Tadalafil Use to Lower Cardiovascular and Mortality Risk in Men With Erectile Dysfunction

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PASADENA, Calif. — February 20, 2024 — A new population-based study led by Dr. Robert A. Kloner, Chief Science Officer and Scientific Director of Cardiovascular Research at Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI), finds that men taking tadalafil, a long-acting phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor (PDE5i) commonly prescribed for erectile dysfunction (ED), experienced significantly lower rates of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and all-cause mortality compared to men not using PDE5 inhibitors.

Published in Clinical Cardiology, the paper — “The Association of Tadalafil Exposure With Lower Rates of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in a General Population of Men With Erectile Dysfunction” — analyzed data from a large U.S. commercial insurance claims database covering more than 29,000 men.

The study team — Robert A. Kloner, Eric Stanek, Karishma Desai, Christopher L. Crowe, Kathryn Paige Ball, Aaron Haynes, and Raymond C. Rosen — compared outcomes between 8,156 tadalafil users and 21,012 non-users matched for cardiovascular risk factors and preventive therapies.

Key findings include:

  • Tadalafil exposure reduced overall MACE by 19% compared with men not prescribed PDE5 inhibitors (HR = 0.81, p = 0.007).

  • Cardiovascular-related mortality was 55% lower among tadalafil users (HR = 0.45, p = 0.032).

  • All-cause mortality was 44% lower overall (HR = 0.56, p < 0.001).

  • Men with the highest cumulative tadalafil exposure had the lowest cardiovascular event rates (HR = 0.40, p < 0.001).

“These findings add to growing evidence that PDE5 inhibitors may offer cardiovascular benefits beyond treating erectile dysfunction,” said Dr. Kloner. “While observational, the results are consistent with prior mechanistic and clinical studies suggesting vascular and endothelial protection.”

The study underscores the need for further prospective, controlled trials to explore potential cardioprotective effects of tadalafil and related medications.

Full article: Clinical Cardiology, February 2024