Viagra is called the miracle drug for ED. No other treatment has been as successful as Viagra in the recent past in treating erectile dysfunction. Viagra is not a drug to treat impotence only. This is also a medicine which is effectively used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. This was developed and marketed by the pharmaceutical company called Pfizer. The main component of Viagra is Sildenafil Citrate.
The working mechanism of Viagra is very interesting. To understand that you have to understand what causes ED and how it treats the condition. Erectile dysfunction is a condition when a man cannot have proper or adequate erection to conduct sex. The erection of the penis is not enough for penetration which can cause a serious risk to one’s sexual and metal life. The main thing responsible for ED is the low blood flow to the penile area. The brain stimulates the blood flow to the spongy and cavernous bodies (corpora cavernosa) in the penis which is responsible for causing the erection. If blood flow is low to cavernous bodies in the penis it causes no erection and but frustration.
Now the drug Sildenafil Citrate present in Viagra excites the enzymes hosphodiesterase5 in your body. The enzymes in turn relax the blood vessels in penis. When you are slowly sexually excited, blood flows in greater volume through the veins to the corpora cavernosa causing erection. The erection by Viagra is not a forced erection. Without excitation your penis will not erect. As you get excited there will be natural blood flow to the penile area causing expected erection. Sildenafil acts by inhibiting the cGMP specific phosphodiesterase type 5, which is an important enzyme that regulates the blood flow to penis. It then involves in the release of nitric oxide in the corpora cavernosa of the penis. The nitric oxide combines with the receptors of a particular enzyme called Guanylate Cyclase which eventually upshots in increased intensity of cyclic cGMP. Once this happens there is muscle relaxation and increased blood flow to the area to cause erection.
Thus this is how Viagra works and cause erection. No other medicine has been so much successful like Viagra in treating impotency. It is something like stretching a rubber balloon before it is inflated. There is criticism of Viagra that it may cause smooth muscle relaxation in other parts of the body. But PDE-5 is only specific to penis and thus Viagra becomes specific for this enzyme in the penis to cause erection. The side effects which occur due to intake of Viagra are due to minimal cross reaction.
The mild side effects of Viagra have been mild head ache, flushing, runny nose, indigestion, blue haze or blur vision. These effects have all been tested clinically and there are no fatal consequences from them. Some people may suffer from nigh vision after taking Viagra, but that is not long term effect. It is recommended that the night you take Viagra for sex, if you feel night vision problem you must avoid driving or call a chauffer to drive you back home!
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