Is it safe for men with high blood pressure to take viagra?
As men getting older, their arteries become less flexible and blood pressure rises. This problem is aggravated by obesity, too much cholesterol in the blood, diabetes, kidney disease, and so on. Viagra works by allowing arteries to dilate. For those with erectile dysfunction, this is a good thing because dilation allows more blood to flow into the penis and creates an erection. But if more arteries are affected, blood flows more rapidly around the body and this causes a drop in blood pressure. Viagra is designed to be reasonably specific, i.e. only to affect the penis. But if you are also taking one of the drugs designed to reduce blood pressure, e.g. ACE inhibitors, diuretics, alphablockers, etc., it was suggested the interaction could produce a more rapid drop in pressure which might be dangerous.
The question, obviously, is short: “how dangerous?” In 2002, the drug companies ran a full clinical trial to find out. Men with high blood pressure were invited to participate and took both viagra and one of the other medications used to treat hypertension. Over time, less than 3% of the participants stopped taking the viagra. Indeed, some 75% found their erections improved without any side effect. The problem with a clinical trial is that this is one group of participants asked to report how they feel on a sensitive issue. It does not mean that viagra is safe for every man. So, if you have high blood pressure, viagra is probably safe and, more importantly, the improvement in sexual performance makes any actual side effects acceptable. But you should monitor the situation and, if you do experience problems, discuss them with your doctor. Remember, there is clear evidence that combining viagra with a nitrate is dangerous. This drug is usually prescribed to treat heart disease. Finally, you should take life easy for six months after a stroke or heart attack.
Can diabetics take viagra?
Diabetes can damage the nerve endings in different parts of the body. This interferes with the way in the body feels things and can cause erectile dysfunction. There have been a number of trials to measure the effectiveness of viagra among men with diabetes. To ensure a scientific result, the men were not told whether they were using viagra or a placebo. Some were allowed to change the dosage up or down from the standard 50 mg.
Taking all the trials together, none of the men reduced the dosage. The majority taking the standard or a higher dosage reported an improvement in their ability to achieve penetration and maintained the erection over time. Some 60% achieved significantly better levels of sexual satisfaction. This is a good performance from a group suffering nerve damage that cannot be cured. Only about 2% of the participants stopped using cheap viagra because of adverse side effects. The most common problem was feeling thirsty which was easily resolved by drinking water. More serious side effects were rare. A few suffered hypo- or hyperglycemic events, and one or two found their eyesight was affected.