Doctors should routinely ask their patients if they are having any sexual performance problems during physical examination, according to a UK-based men’s health specialist.

Dr. Geoff Hackett of the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham said that problems like erectile dysfunction can be early symptoms of serious health issues, and they may alert doctors to a patient’s treatment needs, according to Nursing Times.

Erectile dysfunction can be caused by low testosterone levels, which may increase the risk of coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes and depression, he said.

“A lot of men with sexual problems do present with depression and are often treated inappropriately,” Hackett said, quoted by the news source. He added that making sexual health questions a larger part of routine care could help men avoid many of these problems.

Erectile dysfunction is considered to be an early warning sign of heart disease because the smaller arteries in male reproductive organs are likely to become clogged by plaque earlier than larger arteries, according to the Mayo Clinic.