Today I would like to talk about how doctors use Sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension. In addition, I’d tell when the risks of such therapy outweigh its benefits. In fact, as one scientific study has shown, everyone should be careful. Patients with residual pulmonary hypertension who have had successful heart valve surgery should better not take this drug.
On the other hand, it has also been scientifically proven that Sildenafil (Viagra) helps many patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Moreover, we know many other uses of this medication. So, do not think of it just as of the treatment for erectile dysfunction (or even entertainment).
How scientists found out that Sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension can be dangerous
A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study was conducted in patients with residual pulmonary hypertension after successful valve surgery. First, the participants underwent cardiac catheterization to confirm pulmonary hypertension.
So, scientists randomized 200 patients from 17 Spanish clinics into the Sildenafil and placebo groups (1:1). Then, the researchers followed them up for six months. All this time, the first group received Sildenafil at a dosage of 40 mg three times a day, while the second group took placebo.
Scientists made clinical, laboratory and instrumental examinations twice – three and six months after the start of the experiment. First of all, they investigated the risk of death (of any cause), hospitalization with heart failure, and worsening exercise tolerance. In addition, they assessed the subjective deterioration in the patients’ well-being.
Why better use Sildenafil for its intended purpose?
As it turned out, it is still better to use Sildenafil for its intended purpose – to improve the quality of erection. Unfortunately, by the end of the scientific experiment, observers noted a deterioration in a third (33%) of patients from the Sildenafil group. At the same time, in the control group, the condition worsened in only 15% of the subjects.
Moreover, the risk of hospitalization due to decompensation of heart failure as a result of using Sildenafil for pulmonary hypertension was exactly twice as high. Furthermore, in the group of people taking the drug, three died. In the second group, two patients died.
Thus, physicians should better avoid long-term prescription of Sildenafil in patients with residual pulmonary hypertension and valvular heart disease.