Can men with heart disease also enjoy an active sex life by using Viagra?
Research suggests the erectile dysfunction drug is not only good for sexual performance, but it’s also beneficial to the heart.
Patients still need to consult a doctor about taking any medication with heart disease, based on their particular health.
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However, Viagra, which provides better blood flow to the penis, may also prevent thickening of the heart muscle and early-stage heart failure,
according to NBC News.
Italian reseachers tested and analyzed more than 1,600 male subjects in trials between 2004 and 2014. Men with cardiovascular disorders were given sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra. They did not necessarily have impotence.
Sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient of Viagra, blocks an enzyme that prevents relaxation of muscle tissue.
The study revealed that it prevented the heart from changing shape in people who suffered from a condition that enlarges the heart muscle. Researchers also found that the drug improved heart function in subjects with heart conditions, without affecting blood pressure.
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The drug also helped the heart improve pumping blood into vessels. “Very few drugs used in cardiology can actually affect these parameters,” says Dr. Andrea M. Isidori, the study’s lead author and associate professor of endocrinology at Sapienza University in Rome.
When Viagra first came on the market in the 1990s, there were concerns about its possible negative effects on the heart, recalls Dr. Robb D. Kociol of the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He adds that “in all studies, to the best of my knowledge, it’s not shown any increase in cardiac events in patients who take these drugs.”
However, precautions are necessary for patients taking nitrates for heart disease. The combination of nitrates and Viagra could cause severe low blood pressure and fainting,
writes Dr. Richard N. Fogoros in Verywell. Patients taking nitrates for heart disease should not take Viagra, he stresses. Viagra can be taken by men who have stabilized heart disease as long as they do not take nitrates.
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