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Viagra could treat failing hearts
24 January 2005
The anti-impotence
drug Viagra could be a good treatment for heart failure, US
researchers believe.
A Johns Hopkins team told Nature how they found
it effectively treats enlarged hearts - a common feature of heart
failure - in mice.
Cardiologists said it was reasonable to presume
it would have such an effect.
Viagra was initially designed to be heart drug
until scientists found a useful spin off effect on the blood vessels
of the penis.
Big hearts
It works by expanding blood vessels to improve
blood flow, similar to other angina drugs.
There have been concerns about whether it is safe
for men with heart disease on particular medications that work in
the same way.
Doctors are told not to prescribe Viagra (sildenafil)
along with these drugs called nitrates.
There has always been this feeling that it benefits
the heart.
Dr Ian Banks of the Men's
Health Forum
But it appears to be safe in other heart patients.
In the latest study, Dr David Kass and colleagues
looked at the effect of Viagra in mice with enlarged hearts.
In humans, this can occur with high blood pressure,
which causes the heart's muscular wall to thicken and the heart
can eventually fail.
The mice that received Viagra had smaller hearts
despite their high blood pressure compared with mice that did not
receive the drug.
In a second experiment, Viagra was found to reverse
heart enlargement, or hypertrophy, in mice that already had heart
failure.
Dr Kass said: "This study shows that sildenafil
can make hypertrophy go away."
Therapies
They plan to study the effect in humans and believe
it could lead to new treatments for heart failure.
But Professor Peter Sever, of the National Heart
and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said there were already
effective drugs for heart failure and that Viagra's action was not
unique.
Dr Ian Banks of the Men's Health Forum said: "There
has always been this feeling that it benefits the heart."
He said it could not be prescribed in this way
because it is not licensed for treating heart conditions.
The British Heart Foundation said more studies
were needed before the potential benefits of Viagra could be fully
understood.
A spokeswoman said: "If you have a heart condition
you should check with your doctor before taking the drug.
"Although there are many causes of cardiac
hypertrophy, a main one is high blood pressure.
"If you do suffer from high blood pressure,
try to reduce the amount of salt you eat, drink only a moderate
amount of alcohol, and take lots of exercise."
source:-http://news.bbc.co.uk | 
