VIAGRA could provide a treatment for heart disease as well as problems in the bedroom, a study suggests.
In trials, the impotency pill's active ingredient improved the heart performance of patients with a range of conditions while having no adverse effect on blood pressure.
Most importantly, it helped prevent harmful thickening of the heart's main pumping chamber. This is caused by the heart working too hard. The condition, known as left ventricular hypertrophy, can lead to heart failure, an inability to pump blood around the body.
Italian lead researcher Dr Andrea Isidori, from Sapienza University in Rome, said: "We found that the main ingredient in Viagra can be used as an effective, safe treatment for several patients with heart disease.
"Large clinical trials are now urgently needed to build on these encouraging findings." The chemical PDE5i effectively prevented the heart increasing in size and changing shape in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy.
Writing in the journal BMC Medicine, the authors conclude that PDE5i could safely be administered to men who suffer from heart muscle thickening and early stage heart failure.
However, they said further research was needed to assess the Viagra ingredient's effect on women with heart conditions.
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