Erectile dysfunction drugs protect damaged hearts

15 February, 2006

Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)say that erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs protect the heart from tissue damage after a severe attack. A similar finding has already been made about Viagra. Rakesh C. Kukreja, professor of medicine at VCU, and his colleagues used animal models to determine how one fo the ED drug Levitra works.

They found that both Levitra and Viagra inhibit an enzyme that destroys the intracellular message molecule in heart cells. George Vetrovec, the chairman of cardiology at the university's medical school, said that the ED pills and ED generic pills may eventually be given to patients at a high risk of heart attack as precaution or to those about to undergo bypass surgery.


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