Known as PDE-5 inhibitors, the drugs include sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn). They work by relaxing artery walls and improving blood flow. Earlier research suggested these drugs may also reduce heart problems in men with diabetes or heart disease.

The new study included 72,000 men diagnosed with erectile dysfunction but no heart problems in the previous year. Nearly 24,000 were prescribed a PDE-5 inhibitor and followed for an average of 2.4 years; the others were followed for an average of three years. Compared with men who did not take PDE-5 inhibitors, those who did had a 13% lower rate of heart attacks, strokes, or other serious heart-related events and a 39% lower rate of rate of death related to cardiovascular disease. But these findings would need to be validated in a controlled clinical trial for the drugs to be approved to prevent heart disease. The study appeared in the January 2023 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

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