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Does Viagra Benefit People With Heart Disease? Viagra is a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. Despite its various common and rare side effects, it is safe for most men except for those who take any other medications called nitrates and those who are allergic to sildenafil, as contained in Viagra. A recent paper published October 20, 2014 in journal ‘BMC Medicine’ reported that Viagra could also prevent heart muscle thickening and early-stage heart failure. Patients in the study showed few side effects probably because dosages used for heart ailments were lower than those used for erectile dysfunction. The findings also found no increased risk of visual disturbance, photosensitivity, and blue haze (blue, blurry vision) in more than 1,600 treated patients. Among randomized trials published between January 2004 and May 2014, researchers from Sapienza University of Rome and IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana of Rome chose and analyzed 24 of them that involved mixed populations of patients who were treated with PDE5i or a placebo. Sildenafil citrate, which is the active ingredient in Viagra, is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i). The inhibitor blocks the enzyme PDE5 that prevents relaxation of smooth muscle tissue. PDE5i was given to men who had cardiovascular disorders, but who did not necessarily suffer from sexual impotence (erectile dysfunction). A placebo is not a real medical treatment. It could just be a pill, a shot, or some other type of fake treatment that does not contain an active substance meant to affect health.
Results of their analysis indicated that the inhibitor prevented the heart from changing shape in patients suffering from left ventricular hypertrophy, a condition that causes thickening and enlargement of the heart muscle. The medication also improved the function of the heart in patients with a variety of cardiac conditions, with no effect on blood pressure. Improved efficiency was in fact found in the drug as the heart pumped blood into vessels, along with relaxation between beats. Not many other drugs used in cardiology could actually affect these parameters. That is why their implications in the treatment and prevention of heart failure are huge. But this is not the first time scientists have used Viagra for patients with heart disease. In 1989, British scientists tested sildenafil citrate as a drug for treating high blood pressure and angina. But researchers discovered an interesting side effect (an increase in erections) in early trials of the drug. In 1996, Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, patented it as Viagra, and doctors had ordered more than 40,000 prescriptions within just 2 years. While the public was wondering if the drug would kill people, studies had not found any increase in cardiac events in patients who took these drugs. As a matter of fact, previous studies have suggested Viagra and other PDE5 inhibitors might benefit heart failure by lowering pulmonary artery resistance and providing cardio-protective effects in settings with low blood flow. They would also improve exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure and the drug might even reduce the size of a heart attack. Being marketed under the name Revatio, Viagra is widely used in Canada for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart. Based on these encouraging findings, a large clinical trial is urgently required to find out the long-term effects of continuous use of PDE5i on cardiovascular outcomes and especially, the sex-specific response in patients, given the limited gender data in the current study. Nevertheless, the findings might help destigmatize the use of sex drugs like Viagra, according to researchers. Many people who suffered from erectile dysfunction are not comfortable to use the drugs and this could cause depression and further aggravate their health status and quality of life. These people, however, are much happier to accept the drugs for heart failure or high blood pressure than to improve their sex health.
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