For years, diabetes has been a notorious risk factor for poor cardiovascular health. Studies have suggested people with the condition are almost 50 percent more likely to have a heart attack than those without diabetes. However, a recent study shows that for men with type 2 diabetes, Viagra, the well known erectile dysfunction drug have been found to potentially lower the risk of heart attack and to consequently increase the chances of survival.
Diabetes And Viagra, How Are They Connected?
According to reports released by Medical News Today, it was found that diabetes is estimated to affect around 29.1 million people in the United States, and approximately 1.4 million Americans are annually reported to be diagnosed with the said condition. Prof. Andrew Trafford, the study's co-author from the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, together with their other colleagues were said to have published their findings in the journal Heart.
On the other hand, Express has also revealed that Viagra is commonly prescribed for men who are diabetic as one of the symptoms of diabetes is erectile dysfunction. The drug works by relaxing blood vessels, improving blood flow to the penis. Furthermore, it was also found that people with the said condition are perceived to be at twice the risk of others of developing heart disease, partly because the hearts of diabetics become less efficient over time.
Meanwhile, in conducting the study, the researchers have analyzed data from the 2007-2015 electronic health records of 5,956 men aged 40-89 who had been noted to have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.Of these men, 1,359 were prescribed PDE5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction.
Ultimately, Trafford and his team have highly emphasized that the study was pointing towards the potential benefits of these erectile dysfunction treatments on the heart. Thus, experts consider this development as something that is reassuring that they could reduce heart attack risk and improve heart attack survival in people with diabetes.
