A study presented in 2017 indicated that sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, may not be safe for men who have heart valve disease due to structural problems with the valves of the heart.
Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, is also prescribed for treatment of pulmonary hypertension, a form of high blood pressure that targets the lungs.
Prescribed under the brand name Revatio or simply as sildenafil, the drug is believed to reduce blood pressure in the lungs.
A recent study has cast serious doubt on the drug’s effectiveness in cases where heart valve patients suffer from residual pulmonary hypertension after surgery to repair their valvular defects.
In fact, the study indicates that treatment with sildenafil could actually worsen the prognosis for such patients.
Study Presented at Cardiology Confab
This finding was presented to an August 2017 session of the European Society of Cardiology by Spanish cardiologist Javier Bermejo, M.D., lead author of the study.
He reported that the study found that a six-month treatment of heart valve patients with sildenafil led to worse outcomes than treatment with placebo.
Reacting to the Spanish study’s findings with surprise, New York-based cardiologist Satjit Bhusri, M.D., told HealthDay reporter Mary Elizabeth Dallas that further study is needed.
He pointed out that elevated blood pressure in the lungs also can be caused by an abnormality within the lungs and not just “as a consequence of long-term high pressures from the heart — such as a structural problem with a heart valve — that are transmitted to the lungs.”
Until further study is completed, heart valve patients should probably heed Bermejo’s advice: “Long-term use of sildenafil for treating residual pulmonary hypertension in patients with valvular heart disease should be avoided.”
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