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Year
2007 |
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Viagra Helps COPD Patients Control Pulmonary Blood
Pressure
October 25, 2006
The drug sildenafil, popularly known as Viagra,
may help people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease control
the illness-related blood pressure spikes in the heart's pulmonary
artery, a new study found.
The medication, in addition to its use as a popular treatment for
impotence, has already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
for the treatment of the chronic version of such blood pressure
spikes, known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The drug
has been marketed specifically for this purpose under the trade
name Revatio. Another drug -- bosentan -- is also approved for similar
purposes.
The new research suggests that sildenafil may help all chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients -- even those not
diagnosed with full-blown PAH -- who experience potentially dangerous
pulmonary arterial blood pressure increases both at rest and following
exercise.
The research was led by Dr. Sebastiaan Holverda of the department
of pulmonary medicine at VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands. Holverda and his VU colleagues were to present
their findings Wednesday at a Salt Lake City meeting organized by
the journal Chest.
According to the American Lung Association, COPD is actually a
catch-all for two lung diseases that often strike in tandem -- chronic
bronchitis and emphysema. In both cases, airflow is obstructed,
impeding normal breathing.
Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, responsible for between 80
percent and 90 percent of all cases in the United States. More than
11 million Americans are estimated to have the illness, and more
than 122,000 die from it each year. Women appear to be slightly
more at risk than men.
There's no known cure for the disease, and medications primarily
take aim at symptom relief and slowing the progressive disability
the illness brings.
read more : http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/10/25/hscout535688.html
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