Is That Viagra Good for the Heart?

viagra, the popular drug that was accidentally discovered by a group of pharmaceutical chemists working at Pfizer's Sandwich, Kent, research facility in England, is a drug that seems to have a penchant for hogging the headlines since gaining approval as the first oral erectile dysfunction drug in 1998. If not in the news for its success in the treatment of men who are experiencing erectile dysfunction, it is in the news because of the rare side effects it produces in people who buy Viagra cheap online.

Only recently in 2007, a pilot scheme to sell Viagra over the counter was given a trial run by boots the chemist. Under the scheme, the drug would be made available to men between the ages of 30 and 65 who want to buy viagra online without prescription.

The headline-grabbing ability continues with a report that suggested that buying Viagra tablets may help a man’s heart. According to the report, two studies conducted in San Francisco on the 19th of May showed that the erectile dysfunction drug may help a man’s heart, and men with high blood pressure stand the risk of becoming impotent.

Daniel T. Lackland, professor of epidemiology and medicine at the University of South Carolina in Charleston, was of the opinion that older and middle-aged men stood a higher risk of having erectile dysfunction, and the likelihood of not having their blood pressure under control was more in this same group of men.

Lackland added that the studies showed that it was important for men with erectile dysfunction to have their blood pressure checked and then controlled. The mere treatment of ED, the studies also showed, could improve aortic stiffness."

A report by Greek researchers at the American Society of Hypertension's 20th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition showed that Viagra reduces blood vessels stiffness – an indicator of atherosclerosis and a risk factor for heart disease – when used to treat impotent men who have high blood pressure.

According to statistics, about 65 million Americans have high blood pressure, a risk factor for kidney disease, stroke and heart disease. And it is believed that about 20 million men in America have some degree of erectile dysfunction.

The Connection between Blood Pressure and Erectile Dysfunction
Blood pressure and ED are not only connected, Greek researchers say, but for men who have high blood pressure, the risk of erectile dysfunction, when compared to men with normal blood pressure, is more than twice as high.

Michael Doumas, MD, from the fourth department of internal medicine at the University of Athens in Greece, in explaining the determination of their research, said that men with high blood pressure have a greater chance of being at risk for or having erectile dysfunction."
358 hypertensive men between the ages of 31 and 65 were involved in the study. According to the International Index of Erectile Function, the men were asked to complete a questionnaire that evaluated erectile dysfunction, after which they were compared with a group of men without high blood pressure by the researchers.

ED and Hypertension
Out of the thirty-five percent of men with high blood pressure with some degree of erectile dysfunction, about 9.2% of them were reported to have severe impotence.

Out of the men that have high blood pressure, 20% had erectile dysfunction and 89 had never used hypertension medications. Among these men:
• 160 were taking blood pressure drug and 36% suffered from erectile dysfunction.
• 107 were using two or more drugs to control their blood pressure, while 47% of these men suffered from ED.
In contrast, 14.1% of men that didn’t have high blood pressure had a certain degree of the condition, with 1.5% of these having severe impotence.