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Los Gatos, CA – A new national survey conducted by El Camino Health finds men are more likely to visit the doctor for fatigue (63%), erectile dysfunction (42%) or frequent urination (45%), than coughing (29%) or heartburn (24%). Doctors say these seemingly benign symptoms often signal more serious health problems.
“Oftentimes, symptoms that might seem lifestyle-oriented can have a true, significant medical consequence associated with them,” said Edward Karpman, MD, medical director of men’s health at El Camino Health. “For example, erectile dysfunction, or ED, can be a sign of heart disease. Low testosterone and fatigue can be a sign of sleep apnea. Getting up at night to urinate could be a sign of sleep disorders, as well.”
El Camino Health advises an annual medical checkup for everyone. But research consistently shows men are reluctant to stay on top of preventative visits. Urologists at El Camino Health’s Men’s Health Program assess patients’ overall health and explore whether their symptoms may be tied to larger health issues.
“If a patient comes to see me for ED, we know that they should be screened for heart disease. Well, I’m not a cardiologist, so we work with cardiologists here at the Men’s Health Program to help us stratify these patients,” Dr. Karpman said.
This collaborative approach helped Bill Reynolds, 73, address atrial fibrillation (AFib) after Dr. Karpman treated him for ED.
“I came in to see Dr. Karpman to address my ED and he referred me for additional stress testing to make sure I was healthy enough to have the operation to treat that condition,” Reynolds said. “It was determined that I had AFib.”
After first putting off medical care, Reynolds is grateful for the urological and cardiac care he received, and feels confident that any underlying conditions have been addressed.
“I had tried the typical man thing. I looked up some solutions online and tried some different things on my own, but when my symptoms didn’t improve I finally decided it was time to see a professional,” Reynolds said. “I think a lot of men just think their health problems will get better on their own and it leads them down a path that you really don’t want to be on. So now I’ve hopefully turned that around, and it all started with Dr. Karpman.”
