Business Development Program

Is Viagra safe?

Can men with high blood pressure take viagra?

As men age, 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 “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 adverse side effects. 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. Read the rest of this entry »

Modern pain management

Pain is the classic example of a double-edged sword. It’s a very clever system for warning us that something is wrong with the body – think of it as the dog that barks in the night to warn you of a robber entering your home. But, once you have the message, you want the dog to stop barking. Except, pain does not come with an on/off switch. Like a dog that lacks training, it will not obey your commands. If the cause of the pain is an accidental injury, it will most likely heal and the pain will fade of its own accord. But if the pain persists, you have to made an emotional adjustment. Read the rest of this entry »

You should quit smoking if you want to save your erection

Here comes another of those, “Why you should quit smoking” pieces, this time adding in the bonus of erectile dysfunction. You might think all the news about tobacco could not get any worse. . . Well, let’s run that by you again. Of all the deaths from cancer in the US, the biggest killer is lung cancer. But the evidence now proves that 30% of all the deaths from cancer are triggered by smoking. So wherever you breathe, the risk took off to include cancer of the mouth, gums, larynx and throat. And because the chemicals from the smoke are dissolved into your saliva, everything travels down the esophagus and into the stomach. From there, the effects spread through the body because the chemicals are not discriminating. Down into the colon and bladder. But more seriously into the blood stream where you can trigger leukemia and heart disease. Did you know benzene can cause DNA damage so, among other things, guess what happens to your sperm.

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