Viagra And Nitrates: Why They Don’t Mix Together?

How do Viagra and Nitrates play with each other? If you’re wondering the same, then this article is for you.

What Is Erectile Dysfunction?

There is a major section of the world population that is diagnosed with a disability known as erectile dysfunction. This problem occurs when a male loses his control over his erections, irrespective of age, time of day, and other health factors. Not only does this lead to an unfulfilled sexual drive for your partner and you but also lower interest in continuing a relationship due to much lower than usual sexual activity.

The good news is that erectile dysfunction can be treated with the help of Viagra. Moreover, you can easily buy generic 100mg Viagra online these days.

How Does Viagra Work?

A common method for this disability would be the consumption of different medications such as Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis. They all serve the same purpose – that is to increase blood flow to the penis and harden the walls of the sexual organ. This is done due to its phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibiting property which would otherwise regulate cGMP enzyme levels, eventually leading to lower flow of blood and much weaker walls.

Once consumed, the cGMP levels are allowed to rise, thus inducing a greater erection.

The one thing you need to be aware of is drug interactions. Especially drug interactions with substances that have some nitrate content.

Viagra And Nitrates

If you are already on Viagra and are having other medicines or must-avoid foods at the same time that contain nitrate, then it is almost certain that you will experience a lethal drop in blood pressure. If all you do decide to take in some form of nitrates into your system, make sure you do so at least 24 hours post consuming Viagra.

Both Viagra and Nitrates immediately begin the process of relaxing muscles that are crucial for regulating the size of blood vessels due to pressure.

When already on Viagra, the blood pressure is lowered and more blood reaches the penis which helps in achieving and maintaining an erection. But, having any kind of nitrates will not only lower the blood pressure more in the abdomen but also reduce the flow of blood to survival-crucial organs like the heart.

Eventually, resulting in a heart attack too because of having medicines without being aware of its constituents and interactions.

An experimental research study concluded that when Sildenafil Citrate, also known as Viagra was taken, there was a fairly reasonable effect of vasodilation in a very generic coronary artery. But in the event that Nitrates were combined with Viagra there was a subsequently large and significant decrease in systemic blood pressure and also in several coronary blood vessels.

Along with these already existing life-threatening traits, another phenomenon that takes place inside the body is known as critical stenosis. Critical Stenosis is basically narrowing the artery width to an extent that can be termed as ‘Critical’ to survival.

The distal vascular bed suffers from a large reduction in its maximal capacity. The main problem here is that, because of mixing Viagra and nitrates, the issue does not seem to persist over time. It directly lowers your blood pressure and you feel dizzy, lightheaded, dull, weak, nausea and you seem to have no energy for the daily tasks you would do.

Because of the sudden blockage within the arteries due to the collection of plaque that is fatty in its structure, the blood supply to the heart muscles is suddenly reduced. This would require instant treatment inside the Emergency Room (ER) or the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where the odds of becoming stable are never in favor of the patient.

Sildenafil is the active ingredient present in Viagra and is usually an effective form of medication for resolving erectile dysfunction abnormalities.

Many of its side effects such as nasal congestion and minor headaches do not really affect health and are highly unlikely to put you down inside your grave. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has repeatedly tried to caution people about combining PDE-5 inhibitors such as Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra with Nitrates.

All these substances regulate the blood vessel diameter helping in prolonged required pressure in whichever part of the body the medicine is designed to affect. Some terminologies used for various chemical substance combinations are:

• Isosorbide Dinitrate
• Isosorbide Mononitrate
• Nitroglycerin
• Sodium Nitroprusside
• Amyl Nitrate
• Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate
• Erythrityl Tetranitrate
• Riociguat
• Various Alpha Blockers

These are medicines (sold under brand names) that are responsible for treating hypertension and you must always avoid or at least double-check their packaging for the presence of any Nitrate substances.

Are you a patient who requires some type of hypertension medication? Are you a person who requires Viagra? Do you need hypertension medication and also erectile dysfunction medication? The best place for you to go is a doctor. Rather than doing analysis and research yourself and missing nitty-gritty details that indicate the presence of nitrates, visit a specialist for a professional opinion.

The current situation in the pharmaceutical industry and even in research laboratories is such that there is no PDE type 5 inhibitor that can be used at the same time as nitrates. This can only lead to one point – the doctor will not prescribe you any erectile dysfunction medication (like Viagra) if you are already on a nitrate-based prescription.

Conclusion

After sharing with you these effects of mixing both medicines, how they react in your body when consumed together, and possible common medications used for hypertension treatment, it is now up to you to restrict yourself from digging your own grave. There is nobody on this planet who would want to experience themselves producing a fatal cardiac outcome while they are in the midst of sexual activity.

Also, another oral medication you must be aware of is known as ‘Amyl Nitrate’ – this is also known as a ‘popper’ What they do is they relieve the pain of angina attacks via inhalation.

The effects it produces are – relaxing blood vessels, increasing oxygen and blood supply to the heart which makes the heart work much harder than usual, causing an eventual breakdown.

One cherry on this indisputable cake would be that you do not have to worry about Nitrates present in foods, as they do not react with the active ingredient Sildenafil, present in Viagra.