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Ask the Doctor: A Potent Pill
If you suffer from erectile dysfunction (impotence), you're
hardly alone. It is estimated that about half of all men between ages 40 and 70
in the U.S. suffer from erectile dysfunction (ED) to some degree. The good news
is that ED can nearly always be treated effectively. Much of this success can be
attributed to the oral treatment sildenafil citrate (brand name Viagra), the
most widely used treatment for ED. It works by enhancing the effects of one of
the chemicals the body normally releases into the penis during sexual arousal.
This allows an increase of blood flow into the penis, causing an erection. More
than four patients in five taking Viagra experience an improvement in their
erections. Viagra must never be taken by men tho take any nitrate medicine, such
as nitroglycerine (used for the treatment of chest pains). To do so risks a drop
in blood pressure to life-threatening levels.
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