{"id":16915,"date":"2016-08-27T13:02:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-27T20:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.accessrx.com\/blog\/?p=16915"},"modified":"2016-08-27T13:02:03","modified_gmt":"2016-08-27T20:02:03","slug":"viagra-prolongs-pregnancy-in-preeclampsia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/viagra\/viagra-prolongs-pregnancy-in-preeclampsia\/","title":{"rendered":"Viagra Prolongs Pregnancy in Preeclampsia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Viagra\"
The active ingredient in Viagra may eventually help high-risk pregnancies have better outcomes.<\/figcaption><\/figure> Viagra, the trade name for the drug sildenafil citrate, is inextricably connected to erectile dysfunction (ED) in popular culture.<\/p>\n

What many people don’t realize is that Viagra works not through any magic involving sex itself, but by allowing for better blood flow. In fact, before Viagra became Viagra, it was being studied as a treatment for a heart condition called angina. In other words, there’s nothing inherently “male” about the drug – it just happens to alleviate a common problem among men.<\/p>\n

Researchers have studied and are studying an impressive range of potential uses for Viagra, including treatments for conditions as varied as benign childhood lymphatic tumors and altitude sickness. They’re also finding out that the drug may offer benefits to women with specific pregnancy difficulties, including a dangerous condition called preeclampsia.<\/p>\n

What Is Preeclampsia?<\/b><\/p>\n

Preeclampsia<\/a> is a complication of pregnancy that causes high blood pressure in the mother, and that can damage other organs. Often the kidneys are affected by preeclampsia. It usually begins in the second half of pregnancy, and the mother may have had normal blood pressure beforehand. When preeclampsia goes untreated, serious or fatal complications can develop in both the mother and the baby.<\/p>\n

When a woman is diagnosed with preeclampsia too early in the pregnancy for delivery to be an option, mothers and doctors must face the task of prolonging the pregnancy so the baby can mature and will be more likely to survive, while avoiding unnecessary risks of the preeclampsia itself.<\/p>\n

Health researchers believe that preeclampsia begins in the placenta, which nourishes the fetus during pregnancy. Typically, in early pregnancy, many new blood vessels develop to send blood to the placenta, but in women with preeclampsia, the blood vessels apparently don’t develop properly. They’re narrower and don’t react as expected to hormonal signaling, and the result is that less blood can flow through them. One reason why monitoring the blood pressure of pregnant women is so critical is that elevated blood pressure is an early sign of preeclampsia, and the sooner doctors and patients know about it, the sooner they can plan treatment.<\/p>\n

Why Is Pregnancy Duration Important in Preeclampsia?<\/b><\/p>\n

Delivery is the only “cure” for preeclampsia. Therefore, if a woman develops the condition before the baby has a good chance of surviving delivery, increasing pregnancy duration without creating further risks to mother and baby is necessary for a healthy outcome, and it’s not easy. Women with preeclampsia risk seizures, stroke, severe bleeding, and a condition called placental abruption where the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus.<\/p>\n

Women with preeclampsia must be monitored closely, which usually means more frequent prenatal doctor visits, though it can mean hospitalization. Blood tests, ultrasounds, and other tests may be run to more closely monitor the health of both the baby and the mother. Keeping blood pressure under control is one key to prolonging the pregnancy long enough that the baby has the maximum chance of developing in the womb before delivery is necessary. And as quickly as fetuses develop, safely lengthening the pregnancy of a preeclampsia patient for even a few days can make a positive difference in the baby’s health.<\/p>\n

Findings from a New Study out of Brazil<\/b><\/p>\n

Researchers in Brazil recently published a study in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology<\/i><\/a> involving pregnant women with preeclampsia. One hundred preeclamptic women with single pregnancies from 24 to 33 weeks of gestation were randomly assigned to take either 50 mg oral sildenafil (Viagra) or a placebo every 8 hours. Most patients also received other drugs, such as anti-hypertensives and beta blockers.<\/p>\n

A statistically higher portion of the women in the placebo group required additional anti-hypertensives than the women who took sildenafil (58% vs. 32%). The women with preeclampsia who were treated with sildenafil experienced a “small but significant” increase of 4 days in duration of pregnancy compared with the women in the placebo group. Those extra few days can make the difference between a safe delivery and a complicated one. Previous studies in vitro and in animals had already indicated sildenafil may be an effective treatment for preeclampsia, and the Brazilian study appears to confirm that.<\/p>\n

Other Benefits to Mothers and Babies in the Study<\/b><\/p>\n

Longer pregnancy wasn’t the only benefit<\/a> that mothers and babies experienced when sildenafil was given for preeclampsia. Significantly more women who took sildenafil also experienced decreases in “pulsatility indices” in uterine and umbilical arteries when compared to the placebo group. Pulsatility indices measure the resistance to blood flow by defined collections of blood vessels.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the women who took sildenafil had significantly lower mean arterial blood pressure a whole day after taking the drug compared to their baseline measurement. No such drop in blood pressure was found in the placebo group. This was great news because reducing mean arterial blood pressure without compromising blood flow to the uterine artery benefits both the mother and the baby.<\/p>\n

Potential Advantages of Sildenafil over Other Treatments<\/b><\/p>\n

Sildenafil may offer advantages over existing treatments for preeclampsia.<\/b><\/p>\n

So, if anti-hypertensives already exist and are already given to women with preeclampsia, why would doctors or patients prefer sildenafil? For one thing, it allows doctors to potentially avoid using drugs known as “nitric oxide donors<\/a>,” which cause nitric oxide to be generated, or release nitric oxide themselves. This is how many cardiovascular drugs work, but in cases of preeclampsia, instead of blood vessels opening up, they may constrict instead, making the situation worse.<\/p>\n

Sildenafil would offer an alternative to nitric oxide donors. Other potential benefits may include lower cost (since sildenafil is available as a generic in many countries), and use of a drug with a long track record and well-known safety profile.<\/p>\n

\"Viagra\"
The active ingredient in Viagra may eventually help high-risk pregnancies have better outcomes.<\/figcaption><\/figure> Other Ways Sildenafil May Protect Pregnancies<\/b><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, potential preeclampsia treatment isn’t the only way sildenafil may help ensure healthier pregnancies. Trials are currently underway that test sildenafil to treat a condition called early-onset extreme fetal growth restriction. In these cases, the risk for premature birth is high, and the risks to the baby can be significant. As a vasodilator, sildenafil may increase utero-placental blood flow, facilitating better fetal growth. It’s been tried in a handful of cases, and in non-humans, and the results have been encouraging.<\/p>\n

Viagra may be considered a miracle drug by men with ED who weren’t able to get relief with other treatments, but it may actually have a much wider range of medical uses. Because the active ingredient in Viagra, sildenafil citrate, causes blood vessels to relax so that blood flows more freely, it could help in other situations where blood flow is restricted, such as preeclampsia and restricted fetal growth. Many trials are underway studying potential uses for the drug, even as it remains a best-seller for treating routine ED.<\/p>\n

eDrugstore.com<\/a> cares about every customer’s health. We offer lifestyle medications with the ultimate in convenience and customer service, so you can obtain what you need with minimum hassle. We encourage you to browse our blog<\/a> for content on important health topics, including ED, sexual health, and the latest and most exciting health news.
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Viagra, the trade name for the drug sildenafil citrate, is inextricably connected to erectile dysfunction (ED) in popular culture. What many people don’t realize is that Viagra works not through any magic involving sex itself, but by allowing for better blood flow. In fact, before Viagra became Viagra, it was being studied as a treatment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[184],"class_list":["post-16915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viagra","tag-viagra"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t