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Is Viagra, the erectile dysfunction drug, good for the heart, too?

Probably, although more studies are needed.

In the first human study of its kind, Dr. David Kass , a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, showed in a paper last fall in the journal Circulation that Viagra can suppress the effects of stress hormones on the heart, a potential boon to many people with heart disease.

In the study, 35 healthy male and female volunteers were given a drug called dobutamine, which stimulates the heart much as the natural hormone, adrenalin, does. Their hearts responded just as expected, pumping harder and increasing cardiac output.

About 30 minutes later, Kass divided the group in two. Half got Viagra, the other half, a placebo. Neither the doctors nor the subjects knew who got which drug. About half an hour later, all subjects got another dose of dobutamine. The hearts of people who had gotten Viagra showed a smaller increase in contractions than those of the people who got a placebo, suggesting that Viagra ``acts like a brake on the heart."

In the penis, Viagra works through a chain of chemical reactions to dilate blood vessels, the key to getting and maintaining an erection. In the heart, Viagra works through the same chemical pathway, but the result, instead of vasodilation, is a decrease in the heart's response to stress. In another study, Kass's team has found that this decrease in susceptibility to stress can actually reduce the thickening of the heart muscle that often follows long-term high blood pressure, a problem called cardiac hypertrophy.

Dr. Michael Mendelsohn , director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute at Tufts-New England Medical Center, said that the new evidence of Viagra's effect on the heart means ``it is time to start studying the possibility of using Viagra as a heart drug."

Viagra and similar drugs such as Cialis and Levitra, said Kass, could be taken once a day by people who have thickened heart walls, a problem for 2.5 million Americans with congestive heart failure. A new study using Cialis, which is longer-acting than Viagra, is expected to begin in July. For now, doctors aren't recommending Viagra for heart problems.

Source:http://www.boston.com