Viagra should be routinely prescribed to prevent heart attacks and strokes, researchers claimed last night.
The anti-impotence pills can drastically improve the functioning of men’s hearts, Italian scientists found.
They said men with heart failure who happened to be taking Viagra had far more efficient hearts than other patients.
Scientists in Italy have found the
drug has helped men with enlarged heart conditions and are calling for
tests to be carried out on women
Among
those with an enlarged heart due to a condition called left ventricular
hypertrophy, the drug also stopped their hearts growing even bigger,
which can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
Experts believe a key ingredient in Viagra called PDE5i, which relaxes blood vessels, also prevents damage to heart cells.
A team
from Sapienza University in Rome looked at 24 studies involving 1,622
men, and published the findings in the journal BMC Medicine.
Lead
researcher Andrea Isidori called for the drug to be tested on women
with heart disease, and said that if the results of larger studies
matched his findings, Viagra could be prescribed for heart conditions.
He
added: ‘We found that the main ingredient in Viagra can be used as an
effective, safe treatment. Large clinical trials are now urgently needed
to build on these encouraging findings.’
Some doctors have suggested the drug be routinely prescribed to men suffering heart conditions
Some 180,000 men are prescribed Viagra and other anti-impotence pills, while many more buy them online.
But after Viagra’s patent ran out recently, other drug firms were able to produce cheaper, non-branded versions.
The
NHS subsequently relaxed its rules, enabling it to be prescribed to any
men with serious impotence. Previously, it was only given to those with
impotence as a side-effect of illness or treatment such as
chemotherapy.
The price of copycat drugs is now just £1.45 for four tablets, compared to four of Pfizer’s Viagra pills at £21.27.
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