Viagra Promotes Blood Flow, Reduces Risk of Heart Failure in Men, Study Says

Sildenafil citrate, popularly known as Viagra has been found to prevent heart attacks among diabetic male patients. New research claims the men taking the drug were found to have lower risk of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease than those who do not take the medication.

According to Independent, the lead scientist told the Daily Express the findings are "incredibly exciting".  Experts from the Center for Cardiac Research at the University of Manchester studied 6,000 diabetic patients in Cheshire who had been prescribed to take Viagra, which works to increase blood flow, to treat erectile dysfunction.

Although diabetics are prone to heart problems, the study participants did not suffer as many incidents as compared to those patients who are not on the drug. According to Tech Times, the research is led by Professor Andrew Trafford. His team wanted to show that Viagra can also prevent arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm.

'Heart failure is a devastating condition which means your heart is not pumping blood around your body as well as it used to. It can really impact a person's quality of life and currently the outlook for patients with heart failure is grim - worse than that of some cancers,' Professor Trafford said.

A report by the Daily Mail said that past research published in the journal BMC Medicine showed how Viagra could help prevent the heart from enlarging and changing shape in patients with a condition called left ventricular hypertrophy.

He also added saying, "Our studies have shown that drugs normally used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, actually have a very pronounced effect in slowing the progression of heart failure as well as reducing the likelihood of fatal arrhythmias."

The National Health Service has at least 900,000 people in the United Kingdom who have been diagnosed with heart failure, and while the condition can the said condition can affect people in all age group, they have found that the condition most commonly affects older adults. More than 50 percent of all patients with heart failure are more than 75 years old.

Heart condition is linked to several other severe health conditions such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and heart attack.