Viagra IS safe to take after having a heart attack

March 13, 2017 ZImka

The NHS urges heart disease patients to take caution before taking the drugs
But the new Swedish study shows that Viagra may have a beneficial effect
Experts say the results are surprising due to the links it has to heart disease

By Stephen Matthews For Mailonline and Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail

Published: 14:00 EDT, 9 March 2017 | Updated: 20:59 EDT, 10 March 2017

Taking Viagra after a heart attack is safe and reduces the risk of death, new research suggests.

Patients taking the little blue pill were also 33 per cent less likely to die from any cause after a heart attack.

Despite previous evidence suggesting the opposite, scientists found it lowers the risk of returning to hospital after such cardiac events.

The popular anti-impotence drug, as well as other similar brands, is scientifically known as a PDE5 inhibitor.

Currently, the NHS warns men should exercise caution before taking the medications if they have heart disease.

While it also suggests they should avoid them if they have low blood pressure, recently had a stroke or other cardiac events.

Patients taking Viagra were 33 per cent less likely to die from any cause after having a heart attack, scientists have found

But the new study, at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, shows that Viagra may actually have a beneficial effect.

Study author Dr Daniel Peter Andersson said: ‘If you have an active sex life after a heart attack, it is probably safe to use PDE5 inhibitors.

‘This type of erectile dysfunction treatment is beneficial in terms of prognosis, and having an active sex life seems to be a marker for a decreased risk of death.’

Reduction in heart failure was greater when Viagra was combined with alprostadil – a man-made hormone that helps to stimulate blood flow to the penis.

Currently, the NHS warns that men should exercise caution before taking the medication if they have heart disease

FACTS ABOUT VIAGRA

Viagra was developed in 1998 by accident, after scientists discovered it had benefits for sufferers of erectile dysfunction.

Manufactured by Pfizer, the magic blue pills are taken by more than one million men in Britain each year, figures suggest.

Most users are in their early to mid 50s, but younger people are starting to take the drugs more often, the pharmaceutical previously said.

Until 2013, only the US drug giant had permission to make the pills – costing on average £21.27 for a pack of four.

But since its patent expired, rivals have made generic versions containing the same active ingredient, priced at around £1.45 for the same amount of capsules.

Celebrities such as Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, and Hollywood actors Ben Affleck and Ashton Kutcher have previously admitted using Viagra.

This reduced the risk of death by 40 per cent, but the latter drug had no effect on on its own.

The study analysed the records of 43,000 men age 80 years or under hospitalised for a first heart attack between 2007 and 2013.

They were tracked for an average of three years following the event and whether they were prescribed PDE5 inhibitors or alprostadil.

Overall, slightly more than 7 per cent of men were prescribed an erectile dysfunction drug. The majority (92 per cent) were given PDE5 inhibitors.

While results suggested PDE5 inhibitors may benefit heart health, the researchers are unable to confirm the direct cause and effect.

Dr Andersson added the results were surprising because erectile dysfunction was associated with an increased risk of heart disease in otherwise healthy men.

Viagra was originally developed as a drug to combat angina pectoris, a chest pain associated with heart disease, because it widens blood vessels.

While its effects in reducing angina were found to be modest, the unexpected side effect was that it gave male patients improved erections.

The new study was presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington.

Health | Mail Online