SOLNA, Sweden – Using Viagra can benefit more than just a man’s love life. According to a new study, the remedy for erectile dysfunction can also help prolong the life of a patient.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report that men who have survived a heart attack can prolong their lives by taking the drug. The more often they use it, the smaller the risk of another attack.
Impotence can be an early warning sign for cardiovascular disease in healthy men. It is treated locally with alprostadil, which dilates the blood vessels so that the penis becomes stiff, or with so-called PDE5 inhibitors such as Viagra or Cialis tablets. The pills are taken before sex and increase the blood flow to the penis.
“Power problems are common in older men and now our study also shows that PDE5 inhibitors can protect against a heart attack and prolong life,” said study author Martin Holzmann, of the Karolinska Institutet, in a statement via SWNS Media. “The protection was dose-dependent, so the more frequent the dose of PDE5 inhibitor, the lower the risk.”
Medicines for erectile dysfunction can protect against deadly heart conditions
As Viagra and Cialis lower blood pressure, it was previously not recommended for men with coronary arteries because of the risk of a heart attack. But in 2017, Holzmann and colleagues showed that men with a heart attack tolerate the drug well and that it even prolongs life expectancy and protects against stroke and heart failure.
In their new study, the team compared the effects of alprostadil and PDE5 inhibitors, including Viagra, in men with stable coronary arteries. The patients had a stroke, balloon dilation or bypass surgery for at least six months before starting treatment for erectile dysfunction.
“The risk of a new heart attack is greatest during the first six months, after which we consider the coronary arteries to be stable,” says Holzmann.
The study included 16,500 men treated with PDE5 inhibitors, and just under 2,000 who received alprostadil. Data were collected from the patient’s registers, drug and cause of death. Results show that men who received PDE5 inhibitors lived longer and had a lower risk of new heart attack, heart failure, balloon dilation and bypass surgery than those who received alprostadil.
“This suggests that there is a causal link, but a registry study cannot answer that question,” Holzmann said. “It is possible that those who received PDE5 inhibitors were healthier than those of alprostadil and therefore had a lower risk. To determine if this is the drug that reduces the risk, we should randomly assign patients to two groups, one that takes PDE5 and one that does not. The results we have now give us very good reason to undertake such a study. ”
As Viagra and other PDE5 inhibitors are only available by prescription in Sweden, they cannot be bought over the counter.
But Holzmann hopes men with coronary arteries should not hesitate to address the matter with their doctor.
The research is conducted in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
SWNS author Laura Sharman contributed to this report.