Penile Arterial Studies for Impotence

Your physician has selected this study to rule out a vascular disorder as the cause of impotence or sterility. Decreased blood flow to the arteries of the penis may often be the cause of impotency.

The Penile Systolic Blood Pressure Test is performed in the privacy of an examination room by a qualified technologist. You will be asked to disrobe from the waist down and to wear a hospital gown for the examination. Segmental systolic blood pressure measurements are performed on your legs (Page ) and then a small blood pressure cuff is placed around the base of the penis in a similar manner. A small infrared sensor applied to the penis with double-stick tape records the pressure in several of the penile arteries. The technologist may also listen to blood flow in the vessels using a small ultrasound stethoscope and record blood pressures in this manner.

Following the blood pressure determinations, the examiner may ask you to walk on a treadmill for several minutes. The post-exercise blood pressure response in the penile arteries will be measured again immediately after exercise. By comparing the pressures before and after exercise, the presence of blockage in the arteries of the abdomen, which supply the penile vessels, can be identified.

These tests are meant solely to aid your physician in diagnosis and treatment of your vascular disease and are performed and reported in a confidential manner by the Vascular Diagnostic Laboratory Staff.