Poster Presentations S35 (left figure). Habitual and nonhabitual drinkers demonstrated similar changes with caffeine, whereas the effect of coffee (regular: middle figure; or decaffeinated: right figure) was more potent in nonhabitual compared to habitual drinkers. Pressures also increased, however the increase was more potent in nonhabitual drinkers after both regular (p < 0.05) or decaffeinated (p < 0.01) coffee intake. Conclusions: Both coffee and caffeine increase WR, however drinking

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... leads to a more potent response in nonhabitual drinkers. These findings indicate that substances other than caffeine are partially responsible for the unfavourable effects of coffee on the cardiovascular system. P.031 AORTIC STIFFNESS AND WAVE REFLECTIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH PENILE DOPPLER FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH VASCULOGENIC ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION Background: Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been reported as the first sign of a generalized vascular disease. Aortic stiffness and wave reflections are independent markers and prognosticators of cardiovascular risk. The association between ED and measures of aortic stiffness and wave reflections has not been investigated. Methods: A total of 107 men with ED were evaluated for penile vascular disease severity by penile Doppler ultrasound: 40 men (aged 61±9 yrs) with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 67 men (aged 59±11 yrs) without CAD. Aortic stiffness was evaluated with carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and wave reflections with augmentation index (AIx) of the aortic pressure waveform using high-fidelity pulse wave analysis. Results: Patients with CAD had decreased peak systolic velocity (PSV) (27 vs 34 cm/s, p = 0.001), and increased PWV (9.0 vs 8.4 m/s, p < 0.05) and AIx (30 vs 24%, p < 0.01) compared with men without CAD. PSV was correlated with age (r = -0.24, p < 0.05), Framingham risk score (r = -0.27, p < 0.05), PWV (r = -0.31, p = 0.001) and AIx (r = -0.33, p < 0.001). In multivariate linear regression models adjusting for age, height, heart rate, mean pressure and cardiovascular risk factors (BMI, total cholesterol, HDL, logCRP, hypertension, diabetes and intensity of smoking), penile Doppler results were significantly associated with both AIx (b = -0.265, p = 0.004) and PWV (b = -0.250, p = 0.009). Conclusions: Our study shows that aortic stiffness and wave reflections correlate significantly with increasing severity of penile vascular disease as measured by penile Doppler. This finding provides further insights into the pathophysiology of ED and may have implications for the cardiovascular risk in these patients. Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that erectile dysfunction (ED) may be an early manifestation of generalized vascular disease. Aortic stiffness is an independent marker and prognosticator of cardiovascular risk. The association of ED with aortic stiffness has not been defined. Methods: A total of 164 men (mean age 59±9 yrs) affected by nonpsychogenic and non-hormonal erectile dysfunction for more than 6 months were studied. All participants were invited to complete a 5-item form of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) which is a validated and widely applied method for the evaluation of ED. ED was defined as mild (SHIM score 17-21), mild to moderate (11-16), moderate (8-10) and severe (7 or less). Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured as an index of aortic stiffness using an automated non-invasive device (Complior ® ).