Archive for June 2012

Is it safe for men with heart disease to take Viagra?

Viagra has been clinically tested in men with stable heart disease caused by atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, and found effective and safe in the treatment of erectile dysfunction on condition that these males do not take any nitrates. The actual attention is not in the safety of Viagra tablets but in the possibility of sexual activity to provoke heart attacks or irregular heart rhythm in patients with heart disease.

The hazard of developing heart attack or irregular heart rhythm during sexual activity is small in males with controlled hypertension, mild disease of the heart valves, controlled heart failure, stable angina, and a previous history of heart attack (which occurred more than 2 months ago). Viagra can be taken safely by the men with mentioned above conditions.

The chance of heart attack or irregular heart rhythm during sexual activity is greater in males who have been diagnosed with unstable angina, uncontrolled hypertension, severe heart failure, severe disease of the heart valves, recent heart attack, recurrent ventricular tachycardia, and severe disease of the heart muscles. These men are not recommended to use Viagra. They are generally advised to start the treatment of their primary condition and wait until it gets stable, and then they can use Viagra.

Before Viagra treatment is started it is urgent in the patients with heart disease to determine if the heart can safely obtain the workload of sexual activity. Men with coronary artery heart disease have to undergo a treadmill stress test to find if there is adequate perfusing to the heart muscle during exercising at levels comparable to sexual activity.