BPH Treatment From The Inside Out – Why Blood Flow Matters

Did you know that benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common prostate problem affecting men in their 50s?

BPH refers to a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland that is linked closely with age. By the age of 60, studies suggest that fifty per cent of men will have the condition.

You may have BPH if you’re suffering from one or more of the following symptoms:

• Frequent urination
• Weakened urine stream
• Incomplete bladder emptying
• Nocturia – waking up more than once during the night with a need to urinate

While BPH shouldn’t affect your sexual performance and doesn’t increase your risk of developing cancer, it often impacts quality of life due to annoying and embarrassing urination problems.

While the symptoms usually develop slowly, it’s important to get checked out by a doctor as they can worsen as you age and could be the symptoms of a more serious condition.

What are the causes, and will I need BPH treatment?

Nobody knows for certain why the prostate gradually enlarges, but it’s thought that it could be due to an imbalance of sex hormones that occurs with ageing. Because of its position just below the bladder, the prostate can place pressure on the urethra as it grows bigger, obstructing the passage of urine and resulting in the symptoms mentioned above.

Urine that collects in the bladder and doesn’t get expelled can lead to infection, pain, and potential loss of bladder control. An infection in the urinary tract may also lead to a kidney infection.

BPH treatment isn’t required for every case. Depending on your symptoms and their severity, your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes as a first course of action.

If lifestyle changes fail to address your symptoms, surveillance and medication may be necessary to improve and manage them. 

Common BPH treatments (and their limitations)

• Alpha blockers: These medications work by relaxing the muscles around the bladder and prostate, making it easier to urinate and improving urine flow.
• Hormone-blocking medications: By limiting certain hormonal changes, these drugs can help slow prostate growth and reduce enlargement over time.
• Combination therapy: If one medication isn’t doing enough on its own, doctors may recommend taking an alpha blocker along with a hormone-blocking drug, since they often work better together.
• Tadalafil: While best known for treating erectile dysfunction, tadalafil can also help relieve urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate.

Should your symptoms worsen and become even more intrusive, then surgery such as TURP or laser techniques may become part of the conversation.

The problem with medication is that it can cause side effects such as dizziness, low libido and erectile dysfunction and in some cases, lead to long-term dependence.

Surgical options such as TURP can result in bleeding and retrograde ejaculation, whilst patients will also have to factor in significant recovery time.

So, what is the alternative if I don’t want to become dependent on medication and I don’t wish to go ‘under the knife’?

Let us introduce Prostate Artery Embolization

Prostate artery embolization (PAE) in a nutshell

PAE is a non-surgical, minimally invasive, image-guided procedure  performed by Interventional Radiologists as an outpatient. Tiny particles are used to block specific prostate arteries, which ‘starve’ the prostate, causing it to shrink over the following weeks or months.

Most patients can return home the same day to recover, saving the cost of a hospital stay, and are often able to return to work and their normal routine within a week.

Treating the prostate from the inside and why it matters

For decades, BPH treatment has focused on managing the symptoms of an enlarged prostate rather than addressing its cause. Medications simply adjust hormone levels or relax the prostate muscles, while surgical procedures cut away excess tissue to reduce the size of the prostate. While these processes can be effective, they’re only addressing the results of BPH, not the underlying process driving prostate growth.

Treating the prostate from inside matters because BPH is a biological and vascular condition, not just a mechanical blockage.

The role of blood flow in prostate growth

As men age, the prostate becomes increasingly reliant on an expanded blood supply. The increased blood flow supplies oxygen, nutrients and growth signals that enable the prostate tissue to continue enlarging. Over time, the enlarged prostate squeezes the urethra, causing common BPH symptoms such as trouble starting and stopping the urinary stream and frequent nighttime visits to the bathroom.

Traditional treatments typically focus on cutting and removing prostate tissue and fail to directly address the blood flow fuelling the growth. In some cases, the symptoms can return as the remaining prostate tissue continues to enlarge.

Addressing the root cause, not just the obstruction   

By treating the prostate from the inside out, the focus shifts from clearing the obstruction to targeting the biological drivers of BPH. By reducing blood flow to specific areas of the prostate, the tissue shrinks gradually and naturally rather than being removed abruptly

This approach allows the prostate to decrease in size over time, relieving pressure on the urethra while preserving surrounding structures involved in urinary and sexual function.

Gentler on the body

As an internal targeted treatment, prostate artery embolization (PAE) eliminates the need for cutting, heating or physically removing excess prostate tissue. Instead, it works in tandem with the body’s response to reduced blood supply, leading to controlled prostate shrinkage.

Because PAE does away with a surgical incision into the prostate itself, the benefits are:

• Lower risk of bleeding
• Less trauma to the surrounding tissue
• Lower risk of sexual side effects
• Faster recovery time (days rather than weeks)

A more modern way to think about BPH treatment

Life’s too short to be held back by frustrating and painful urinary symptoms. PAE helps you get your life back on track in no time at all by internally targeting specific prostate areas responsible for your symptoms while leaving healthy tissue untouched.

Schedule a consultation with our experts at MINT and learn how prostate artery embolization can help you sleep better, feel better, and enjoy life once again.