Men who have stable coronary artery disease who also take Viagra may live longer and also have a reduced risk of having a new heart attack compared to those who suffer from the disease but do not use the remedy for erectile dysfunction, according to the findings of study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden compare the effects of different ED drugs in men with a stable coronary artery disease. All participants experienced a heart attack, underwent a balloon dilation (a cardiac catheterization procedure), or bypass surgery in the six months before starting treatment for ED.
Collecting data from patient, drug and cause of death registers, the researchers looked at 16,500 men treated with PDE5 inhibitors, such as Viagra or Cialis, while just under 2,000 of the participants received alprostadil, an injectable agent used to treat ED.
In the end, the researchers found that men treated with PDE5 inhibitors lived longer and had a lower risk of a new heart attack, heart failure, balloon dilation, and bypass surgery than those who received alprostadil.
URINALS CAN SPREAD CORONAVIRUS, STUDIES
“The protection was dose-dependent, so the more frequent the dose of PDE5 inhibitor, the lower the risk,” reads a news release on the findings.
“Power problems are common in older men and now our study also shows that PDE5 inhibitors can protect against heart attack and prolong life,” said Dr. Martin Holzmann, a deputy professor in the Department of Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet, who led the study, said. in a statement.
PENIS MICROBES MAY PLAY ROLE IN COMMON VAGINAL INFECTION, STUDY FINDINGS
Researchers have suggested that the results may be because some ED drugs like Viagra lower blood pressure, as high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease. Holzmann said the study was observational and that more research on the topic is needed.
“This indicates that there is a causal link, but a registry study cannot answer that question,” Holzmann said in a statement. “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 who takes PDE5 and one who does not. The results we have now give us very good reason to undertake such a study.”