Problem: What do you need to bear in mind if you take Viagra and blood pressure medicines during the summer months?
Tip: Viagra – watch out if you take it in the summer
Although an Indian summer does not look like it will be on the cards this year, patients undergoing treatment for hypertension should be aware of changes to their blood pressure during the summer and winter months, especially if they take Viagra. The sun’s heat in the summer months causes our blood vessels to dilate. Blood vessel dilation is a natural process which helps us to cool down, but also causes blood pressure to lower. Conversely, on average, blood pressure in winter tends to be higher as blood vessels contract and people who use medications to regulate hypertension often need to have their treatment dosage increased. But why is this information important for Viagra takers?
In the UK there are around 10 million men over the age of 50 and around 4 million take blood pressure medications. The number of people who require treatment for hypertension increases every year and as cardiovascular problems are associated with erectile dysfunction it also makes sense that the percentage of men taking ED treatments as well as BP medications is also on the rise. With growing numbers of patients taking ED and BP medications concomitantly it is vital that patients are aware of how these drugs can affect them and how they may interact with one another.
Just as blood pressure medications may need to be altered during the summer months, men may also need to lower the dose of their ED medications. This is because pharmacological treatments for erectile dysfunction are essentially vasodilators, agents which dilate your blood vessels, so taking them in summer can lead to lower blood pressure. As drugs for hypertension and impotence have similar effects, men who take Viagra as well as medications to lower blood pressure put themselves at risk of summing the effects of their treatments, something which could be potentially dangerous. In some cases a combination of the effects of these treatments could result in a man feeling faint or dizzy, experiencing fuzzy vision or even passing out during intercourse or at any point within the time frame the ED medication is effective for. In rarer cases the combination of a BP medication, ED tablets and increased heat could lead to death.
To avoid the risk of such side effects, the advice to frequent users of Viagra is to reduce their habitual dose of the treatment during the summer period, so if you normally take the 100mg tablet you should consider using 50mg instead. For those taking Viagra for the first time over the summer it is advised to start on a lower dose, such as the 25mg or 50mg tablet, in order to assess how you react to the drug. If you are unsure on how to regulate your treatments, speak to your doctor for further medical advice.
