Erectile dysfunction drugs have other benefits

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new review looks at the long-term impact of drugs for erectile dysfunction and find they help the heart and circulation.
The use of sildenafil (Viagra) and related drugs for erectile dysfunction is increasingly common. But what about the long-term impact of these medications? Doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center now report on their own and others' research into this issue.

They looked at the blood, heart, lungs and blood flow into the brain and found hardly any negative effects - in fact, the reverse seemed true. However, this data is really from short-term studies as the drugs have only been around since 1998 and later. Many men taking these drugs also have diabetes and heart disease but these conditions do not, on the whole, seem to be adversely affected by erectile dysfunction drugs. Indeed, they were originally developed for angina and are designed to increase blood flow. It may be that they are actually not being used as widely as they could be and have a role in treating disorders other than erectile dysfunction.

Source
International Journal of Impotence Research 8th June 2006

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