Viagra STOPS heart attacks: Sex drug could soon be used to treat hundreds of thousands
THE sex drug Viagra could soon be used to treat hundreds of thousands of heart failure patients and even prevent fatal heart attacks, say scientists.
But now a new study by the Centre for Cardiac Research at the University of Manchester has shown that cells from a failing heart actually survive for longer when they are given a Viagra-like drug which is normally used to treat impotence in men.
Heart failure is a devastating condition
The same group have also studied how Viagra use in diabetic patients alters their risk of having a heart attack. The results of the study – which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal BMJ Heart – on 6,000 male diabetic patients in Cheshire who had been prescribed Viagra for erectile dysfunction found they had a much lower risk of suffering a heart attack or dying from heart failure than those who were not taking the drug.
“Our studies have shown that drugs normally used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction such as Viagra, actually have a very pronounced effect in slowing the progression of heart failure as well as reducing the likelihood of fatal arrhythmias.
Patients treated with Viagra for erectile dysfunction are far less likely to die from heart attacks
It comes as news of women suffering with varicose veins on their vaginas has been revealed.
It is now hoped that the findings will pave the way for future clinical trials in patients with heart failure or at risk of heart attacks such as those with Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome (a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity).
Earlier research published in the journal BMC Medicine in 2014 showed how Viagra (also known as sidenfil citrate) could help to prevent the heart increasing in size and changing shape in patients with a condition called left ventricular hypertrophy.
Although there is medication to manage the condition and control symptoms, there is currently no cure and those with severe heart failure will eventually need a heart transplant to extend their lives. Those with mild or moderate heart failure may be able to live a normal life with tablets.
Hospital visits due to heart failure rose by more than a third in the last decade from 36 per cent from 107,000 to 146,000 between 2004/5 and 2014/15, according to figures from the BHF.
Now one of the most famous drug names in the world, Viagra transformed the treatment of impotence and has restored the love lives of millions of men since it was introduced in the 1990s. It was originally developed as a remedy for angina because it seemed to boost blood flow through damaged arteries by dilating blood vessels around the heart. But patients reported involuntary erections as an unexpected side effect. It was reported at the time that some even refused to hand their pills back at the end of the experiment.
