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April 16, 2001 — One in four American adults has high blood
pressure, putting them at risk for heart attack and stroke. Nearly one in 10
suffers from a depressive illness. Luckily, an expanding array of buy levitra vardenafil
drugs is available to help treat and control both conditions.
The bad news? As these drugs lower blood pressure and lift
mood, they can also mess up normal sexual functioning. So while a given
medicine might restore physical and mental health, it can also spark erectile
dysfunction, lack of interest in sex, and the potential destruction of a
relationship.
The key, say doctors who have studied drugs for hypertension
and depression, is to seek help from a physician who is up to date on what
treatments are out there and who is willing to work to find the best ones for
you . Together, you can choose one that will keep you as healthy as possible
while doing the least damage — or perhaps none at all — to your sex life.
Lowering pressure
The search for what doctors call “high-yield, low-risk”
treatment of high blood pressure has been going on for decades, writes Peter
Rudd, MD, a professor of medicine and chief of the division of general internal
medicine at Stanford (California) University Medical Center, in an editorial
published in the April 1, 2000, issue of the American Journal of
Medicine.
In recent years, the old standbys — thiazide diuretics (such
as HCTZ, Maxide) and the beta-blocker drugs (such as Lopressor) have been
joined by a tongue-twisting litany of other drug classes. You will likely hear
your doctor refer to other types of blood buy online securely viagra drugs known as
alpha-blockers (Regitine, Dibenzyline), calcium antagonists (Cardizem,
Plendil), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (Lotensin),
angiotensin II receptor antagonists (Cozaar), and direct vasodilators
(Minoxidil, Apresoline). Each works differently to lower pressure.
And despite that smorgasbord of drugs, Rudd tells WebMD, the
truth is there is much yet to be learned about the effects of blood
pressure-lowering drugs on sexual functioning.
And in women, that goes double, as the “data about female
dysfunction is scant,” he says.
Physicians do have a good idea of how some of the blood
pressure-lowering drugs affect some sexual functioning. Generic pack viagra, for
instance, can reduce stimulation to the erection center.
Studies have yielded mixed results about which antihypertensive
drugs to avoid if you want to keep some romance in your life. Several have
shown, for instance that diuretics and acupuncture erectile dysfunction are associated with more
sexual side effects, according to Rudd.
Despite that, he says, the Joint National Committee on
Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure
continues to recommend those drugs first.
“Those two drugs classes have been shown to reduce heart
attack, stroke, and other major end points of high blood pressure,” Rudd
adds. But it can be a tradeoff.
For instance, he says, ACE inhibitors, shown in some studies to
be less likely to cause sexual problems, are also more expensive.
Not all of the studies paint a bleak picture of the old standby
drugs, however. For instance, a study published in the same issue of
American Journal of Medicine that carried Rudd’s editorial found no
difference in sexual function between 312 men and women randomly placed on
either the beta-blocker Inderal or an inactive placebo drug.
It’s difficult to predict who will and won’t notice an effect
on sexual functioning after beginning blood pressure-lowering drugs, Rudd says.
But one study published in the May 1999 issue of Pharmacotherapy found
that nearly every first-line antihypertensive treatment (which includes
diuretics and beta-blockers) has been reported to cause some degree of erectile
dysfunction. But sexual problems can also increase with age and as other
diseases set in, so it’s even more difficult to pinpoint exactly what percent
of problems can be blamed on the drugs.
A physician should mention the possibility of side effects when
prescribing a blood pressure-lowering drug, Rudd says, but encourage a patient
to try it before dismissing it because of potential effects. “The only way
to be sure,” he tells patients, “is to take a trial of it.”
If sex life is affected, doctors can consider many options:
reduce the dose, switch to another drug, or suggest lifestyle modifications
such as exercise, which could help lower blood pressure and reduce the need for
medication.
Source: When Good Drugs Lead to Bad Sex
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