A problem for many men, though, is that some types of blood pressure drugs can causeerectile dysfunction. That may make it tough to stay on medication, especially if high blood pressure never caused any symptoms before. An estimated 70% of men who have side effects from high blood pressure medicine stop taking it.
While many drugs used to treat high blood pressure have been linked to erectile dysfunction, some are much less likely than others to cause problems. Certain high blood pressure drugs may even improve erectile dysfunction for some men.
It’s known that diuretics (or water pills, like hydrochlorothiazide) and beta-blockers (like Atenolol) can also cause erection problems. These are also the first drugs that a doctor is likely to prescribe if you are not able to lower your high blood pressure through diet and exercise.
Some families of high blood pressure drugs rarely cause ED as a side effect. They include:
ACE inhibitors
Alpha-blockers
Calcium channel blockers
ARBs
ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors – such as Capoten, Lotensin, Prinivil, and Zestril for example – widen blood vessels and increase blood flow. Erectile dysfunction is rarely a side effect, occurring in less than 1% of patients. There are several different drugs in this category. This seems to be true of all of them