April 28, 2023 Dr. James D Jablonski

Why you must not mix Viagra and Nitrates?

With time, erectile dysfunction has become a common condition that affects a number of men across the world. Also, 50% of adults suffer from some form of heart disease. There is no surprise that some people end up taking medicines for treating heart disease and erectile dysfunction together.

Remember you must not take Viagra and nitrates together. Doctors prescribe nitrates to treat certain medical conditions like heart attacks, chest pain, and some types of heart diseases as well.

When nitrates and Viagra are taken together, they can result in low and even fatal blood pressure.

How Viagra affects your blood pressure?

Sildenafil, an active ingredient of Viagra is a PDE-5 inhibitor. It works in your body by obstructing the enzyme that is responsible for regulating the flow of blood to the soft tissue present in the male sexual organ. This further makes it easy for you to get an erection and maintain it to involve in sexual activity.

As part of this procedure, Viagra also affects your muscle tissue which is responsible for controlling the diameter of your blood vessels. Your blood vessel dilates when you start taking Viagra. This further help in increasing blood flow to the erectile tissue in the male reproductive organ and other parts of your body.

This dilation of blood vessels further starts to affect your blood pressure. When you start using Viagra on your own, your blood pressure decreases just by a small amount.

Usually, after taking a normal dose of Viagra, blood pressure decreases by 8.4/5.5 mmHg. This drop in blood pressure also takes place with other medicines used for treating ED.  

This type of drop in blood pressure is not something that you need to worry about. In case, you are a healthy person and do not suffer from cardiovascular health problems then a small decrease in blood pressure caused by Viagra will not affect your health. 

When you use Viagra or any other ED medicine along with nitrate, it can lead to a serious drop in your blood pressure levels. This can further lead to loss of consciousness or full-on cardiac arrest.

How do Viagra and Nitrates Interact?

The FDA has already warned against the usage of nitrates with Viagra and other ED medicines as well. PDE 5 inhibitors like Viagra and nitrates both have similar effects on the diameter of blood vessels. When taken together, the interaction between these medicines can make you suffer from low blood pressure and affect your heart health as well.

This can further cause a heart attack, mainly if you are using nitrates to treat angina or other heart condition that need some minimum level of blood pressure.

The most commonly used nitrates that might interact with the Viagra pill include:

• Sodium nitroprusside
• Nitroglycerin
• Isosorbide mononitrate
• Isosorbide dinitrate
• Erythrityl tetranitrate
• Sodium nitroprusside
• Pentaerythritol

These medicines are mainly used for treating the medical condition of systemic hypertension.

Many of these medicines are sold under particular brand names, instead of under their generic names. It is crucial to read the packaging of your medicine to check whether it contains any active ingredients that might have interacted with Viagra.  

Other cardiovascular medicines like alpha-blockers, Riociguat, and others helpful in treating hypertension can have the potential to interact with Viagra tablets and cause hypotension.

Recreational medicines containing nitrates, like butyl nitrate and amyl nitrate might also interact with your ED medicine Viagra. Remember these medicines are not considered safe for use with ED medicine and must not be taken strictly before or after using Viagra.

Are you using Nitrates?

In case, you are using nitrates in order to treat your hypotension condition and wish to use Viagra at the same time then consult the doctor.

Remember none of the PDE5 inhibitor medicines helpful in treating ED are considered safe to take with nitrate drugs. This means that the doctor will not prescribe you Viagra pills if you are already nitrate-based medicine.

You need to know there are many options for improving sexual performance apart from medicine. To protect your erection and enhance your sexual performance, you must eat healthily, exercise more and quit all unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol and smoking.

You might also get some benefit from other treatments for erectile dysfunction like psychotherapy. Nowadays, there are also many other medicines available that treat ED in men along with cardiovascular problems like alprostadil.

Do not mix Viagra with Nitrates

It is not safe to use sildenafil medicine like Viagra if you are on hypertension or chest pain treatment with nitrates. When both medicines are used together, they cause a serious and fatal drop in your blood pressure.

Other antihypertensive medicines like alpha-blockers and Riociguat can also make you suffer from health problems when taken with Viagra or other ED drugs.

So, if you are already using nitrates then it is necessary to inform the doctor beforehand about using erectile dysfunction medicines like Viagra.

In case, you suffer from angina, hypertension, or other cardiovascular condition and wish to treat ED then contact the doctor once. The doctor will recommend more effective and heart-safe treatment options that are best for you.

Therefore, before you start your treatment for ED, it is vital to inform the doctor about all other medicines you take to treat other health conditions.

If ED medicines are not for you then don’t worry because other treatment options can help you to achieve a strong erection. As a result, you will have a great opportunity to involve in sexual activity.

No matter what conditions you are going through, your doctor will always prescribe the best ED treatment plan.