The effect of combined antihypertensive treatment (felodipine with either irbesartan or metoprolol) on erectile function: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine whether combining a calcium channel blocker with either an angiotensin II receptor blocker or a β-blocker would have similar effects on sexual function in men with hypertension. METHODS This prospective, randomized study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01​238705) included 218 male participants with untreated hypertension. Patients were randomized to treatment with felodipine combined with irbesartan or metoprolol for 48 weeks. Sexual function was evaluated at baseline and after 48 weeks of therapy. The levels of serum sex hormones and markers of oxidative stress were measured at the same time. RESULTS There was no significant difference in the prevalence of erectile dysfunction before and after treatment in either group (p > 0.05). There were also no differences in the levels of serum testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin or 4-hydroxynonenal before and after treatment in either group (p > 0.05). In the felodipine-irbesartan group, sexual desire scores rose after treatment (p = 0.022) and the concentrations of serum 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde declined (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). The between-group differences for 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and malondialdehyde were not significant (p > 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION The results suggest that felodipine-irbesartan may be more beneficial to the sexual desire of hypertensive male patients than felodipine-metoprolol. This effect was possibly relevant to irbesartan, which prevents oxidative stress to some extent.