What does it meanwhile talking about “Nitrates”?
Nitrates, also called nitrate medicines, essentially refer to those medicinal drugs used for the treatment or prevention, of various health problems, for instance, heart pain caused as a result of heart diseases. The heart pain significantly includes chest pain, angina, etc. The latter is a condition in which a person’s heart arteries narrow down significantly due to a build-up of some fatty substance named atheroma.
This class of medicine includes some main types of nitrates like the following:
- Isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN),
- Glyceryl trinitrate (GNT), also called nitroglycerine (NTG),
- Pentaerythrityl tetranitrate (PETN),
- Erythrityl tetranitrate (ETN), and lastly
- Isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN).
Each type of nitrate fundamentally carries a specific purpose of its own. For instance, ISDN is responsible for the treatment of angina pectoris. ISMN is for treating chronic angina pectoris, and NTG is for the cure or prevention of angina pectoris and heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, and hypertension.
Well, nitrates essentially have many distinct forms with several routes of administration in one’s body. It could be either ointment, patch, spray, capsule, sublingual tablet, or even intravenous infusion.
Talking about Viagra!
Viagra is a well-known and most prescribed brand name for Sildenafil. It is used to treat several male sexual issues, mainly targeting Erectile Dysfunction (ED) or impotence issues, masculine weakness, loss of stamina, etc. It contains Sildenafil Citrate as its main element, responsible for causing an erection. People who find it difficult to get a proper erection while getting sexual arousals or during sex get consulted by their doctor to consume Viagra tablets.
This medicine is strictly for men to use and those who are above the age of 18 years. Its history says that You originally created this medicine to fight all heart diseases and prevent possible blood clot chances. However, it essentially targets the male sex organ and helps relax its muscles and the arteries, which eventually helps more blood flow there. Thus, it initiates a proper blood flow to the penis, with which a good and proper erection could be achieved, lasting longer.
Normally, it is believed that Viagra consumption can even lead to an erection lasting longer than 4 hours! However, taking up this medicinal drug is worthless if the person is not putting up efforts to simulate. There has to be a feeling of proper sexual arousal, which allows the drug to start its action. This is a mandatory condition for Viagra. Hence, it is advised to take up the medicine for about 15 to 30 minutes before indulging in any sexual activity.
Is there any trace of health problems taking Viagra while being on Nitrate drugs?
For the readers to know, PDE-5 is that element that is responsible for hindering a proper erection even at the time of sexual arousal that a person experiences. It is a type of enzyme that leads the blood vessels of the male sex organ and one’s lungs, to narrow down. Viagra drug essentially is a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE-5 inhibitor) drug. Blocking the PDE-5 enzyme leads to further relaxation of the penis and the process.
Viagra is, thus, responsible for widening the blood vessels and thus lowering the blood pressure of the body. Nitrates are medicinal drugs targeting heart issues, and their job involves reducing the body’s blood pressure levels. Hence, Viagra and Nitrate combination is not suitable for heart health! They can together potentially lead to causing a dangerous drop in the blood pressure level, which could be even fatal to handle.
But how does this happen? Well, here comes the role of a popular chemical compound known as nitric oxide. You could best explain the mechanism in layman’s terms as Viagra medicines work by expanding the arteries and other blood vessels. This leads to some changes involving the breakdown of the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (or cGMP). It is a molecular compound controlled by the chemical nitrate oxide.
Nitric oxide (NO) is essentially a molecule that is synthesized naturally in the human body from the amino acid L-arginine with the help of an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase. The production of nitric oxide significantly takes place at the inner layer of the blood vessels, in the endothelium. This is the main location, but the molecule is produced by various other types of cells and at multiple locations.
It is important in some ways. Nitric Oxide (NO) is called a vasodilator, which fundamentally is responsible to modulates the vascular tone, hemodynamics, and body blood pressure. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent and an antioxidant too. Nitric Oxide is undoubtedly also known as an endothelium-derived agent used as a relaxing factor! Moreover, it also acts as an excellent antiatherogenic antithrombotic agent in the human body!
Consuming Nitrate drugs on top of consuming Viagra too can potentially lead to a risk of making one’s heart condition worse. Such a combination is unsafe to try and can even lead to death!
Hence, it is advised never to take Viagra medicine while consuming Nitrates. Period. For a general idea to the readers, it is not only Nitrates and some other medications that might show drug interactions with Viagra. Those medicines include riociguat, alpha-blockers, and several other antihypertensives.
