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Viagra could treat heart disorder

 Popular impotence drug Viagra, used by millions of men around the world, could also be used to treat patients with a serious heart condition, research has revealed.

A study in mice found that Viagra, also known as sildenafil, could effectively treat enlarged hearts - a condition known as hypertrophy.

The US researchers are already planning a large trial to test if the drug has the same effect in humans with the condition.

Researcher David Kass, from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland, said: "A larger-than-normal heart is a serious medical condition and is a common feature of heart failure that can be fatal."

'Natural brake'

The team focused on Viagra because it blocks or stops an enzyme known as phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5A), which is involved in the breakdown of a key molecule cyclic GMP.

This serves as a "natural brake" to stresses and overgrowth in the heart.

Dr Kass said: "We thought we could more strongly apply the brake on hypertrophy in the heart if we used sildenafil to prevent the breakdown of cyclic GMP."

The researchers said their findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, were the first to show that Viagra was an effective treatment for a chronic heart condition.

Viagra, whose popularity has grown considerably since its launch in the late 1990s, works by boosting the natural mechanism that leads to an erection.

But these effects were discovered accidentally as the drug was originally being developed to improve blood supply to the heart in angina sufferers.

Smaller hearts

Since then scientists have been looking at other possible applications for Viagra.

The Johns Hopkins study involved several experiments on male mice with hypertrophy which was stimulated by the researchers.

The mice who were fed Viagra had 67 per cent less muscle fibrosis - a scarring or thickening of the muscle that often occurs with hypertrophy - compared with mice not fed the drug.

The mice treated with Viagra also had smaller hearts and improved heart function, while the untreated hearts were dilated and weaker.

In another test the researchers examined the effects of Viagra in reversing hypertrophy that had already occurred.

The mice were exposed to pressure stress, by constricting the main artery carrying blood from the heart, for up to 10 days with their hearts developing fibrosis and muscle growth by nearly 65 per cent.

Future therapies

But after two weeks of treatment with Viagra, fibrosis and muscle growth almost completely disappeared.

In the mice who were not treated the hearts continued to get bigger.

In a surprising result, the researchers also found that heart function actually improved after hypertrophy had been stopped and treated.

"This study shows that sildenafil can make hypertrophy go away," Dr Kass said.

"Its effects can be both stopped in their tracks and reversed.

"Overall the results provide a better understanding of the biological pathways involved in hypertrophy and heart dilation - leading contributors to heart failure.

"They suggest possible therapies in the future, including sildenafil, which has the added benefit of already being studied as safe and effective for another medical condition."

Dr Kass said further research was needed to fully understand the benefits of Viagra on the heart.

June Davison, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "The findings from this study on mice suggest that sildenafil may be effective at treating or reversing cardiac hypertrophy.

High blood pressure

"However, more studies are needed before we fully understand the potential benefits of sildenafil.

"If you have a heart condition you should check with your doctor before taking the drug.

"Although there are many causes of cardiac hypertrophy, a main one is high blood pressure.

"If you do suffer from high blood pressure, try to reduce the amount of salt you eat, drink only a moderate amount of alcohol, and take lots of exercise."