Sildenafil and Pulmonary Hypertension

Sildenafil and pulmonary hypertension could be associated therapeutically.  The recent trend of combination therapy includes sildenafil as a potential treatment of pulmonary hypertension.  This is used in conjunction with more traditional approaches to treatment of pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension is caused by constricted blood vessels in the lungs.  If the vasoconstriction persists, backpressure can lead to right sided heart failure.  This is a slowly progressing reaction where ankle edema and deleterious heart muscle growth are common signs.  Other symptoms of pulmonary hypertension are shortness of breath at rest which becomes much worse on exertion.  Sildenafil, better known as Viagra, is a drug class acting as a vasodilator alleviating the source of these symptoms, the vasoconstriction. 

Sildenafil and Pulmonary Hypertension

Initially, sildenafil was noted to reduce pulmonary hypertension as a favourable side effect to the intended effects of Viagra.  Presently, a positive treatment link has been made between sildenafil and pulmonary hypertension.  Sildenafil has been shown in controlled trials on humans to improve lung mechanics, air diffusion, and reduce exercise-induced pulmonary edema.  These positive results reducing pulmonary hypertension are believed to be due to sildenafil’s vasodilator properties.

The positive findings of this and other similar studies have led researchers to experiment with the use of sildenafil as a preventative therapy for pulmonary hypertension.  Researchers discovered that early treatment with sildenafil reduced pulmonary hypertension when pulmonary hypertension was secondary to heart failure. This finding implies that administration of sildenafil may protect against pulmonary hyertension in left or right sided heart failure.

The link between sildenafil and pulmonary hypertension is growing stronger as more and more clinical trials are completed.  Sildenafil is not a cure for pulmonary hypertension and to stay healthy and safe, follow your treatment plan and take the sildenafil and pulmonary hypertension medications as prescribed by a healthcare professional.