Sex-boost drug Viagra can be fatal when taken with chest pain medication, warns new research.
The study shows that patients are at higher risk of dying when the two commonly prescribed medications are combined.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common condition in middle-aged and older men and is a strong predictor of coronary artery disease.
Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5i) – an erectile dysfunction drug sold under the names Viagra, Levitra, Cialis and others – are a common medical treatment for ED in men with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Nitrates are medications commonly used to treat angina, or chest pain.
Since both PDE5i and nitrates can cause drops in blood pressure patients are usually advised against taking the two together.
However, until now, there has been little data on the implications of using both.
A Swedish research team set out to fill this knowledge gap and better advise medical professionals on the safety of the drugs.
Senior author and associate Professor Daniel Peter Andersson from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm said: ‘Physicians are seeing an increase of requests for erectile dysfunction drugs from men with cardiovascular diseases.
‘While there is a positive association of ED medication for men with cardiovascular disease, patients taking nitrates may experience an increased risk of negative health outcomes.
‘Our goal is to underscore the need for careful patient-centred consideration before prescribing PDE5i medication to men receiving nitrate treatment.
‘Furthermore, it justifies our efforts for continued research into the ambiguous effects of ED drugs on men with CVD.’
The team studied data from 61,487 men with a history of myocardial infarction (MI, also known as a heart attack) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) who had received two nitrate prescriptions within six months.
Among these men, 55,777 men were treated with nitrates and 5,710 were treated with both nitrates and PDE5i.
The results of the study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, indicate that the combined use of PDE5i treatment with nitrates is associated with a higher risk for all health outcomes compared to those taking nitrates alone.
They also discovered that this risk was not immediate as few events occurred 28 days after dispensing the medication.
The researchers note that there are limitations to the study and that more research is required on the subject.
Dr Glenn Levine concluded: ‘ED and CAD are unfortunate, and all too common, bedfellows.
‘But, as with most relationships, assuming proper precautions and care, they can co-exist together for many years perhaps even a lifetime.’
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