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[H314]High Blood Pressure Patients

by John Scott, Joh

One of the biggest fears men have when prescribed anti-hypertensive medications is the effect these drugs will have on their sexual performance. Recent studies revealed that Levitra can counter these effects. A person with hypertension or high blood pressure may now be able to treat their high blood pressure condition with multiple anti-hypertensive medications and still enjoy a healthy sex life. In this article I will touch the ground with the results of recent scientific research.

Levitra is one of three FDA approved oral phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors which are used to treat erectile dysfunction. The other two are Cialis and Viagra. PDE5 inhibitors relax narrowed or hardened penile arteries to the point where they will allow blood to enter the penis and create an erection in patients with ED.

E.D. or Erectile Dysfunction is a man's inability to obtain or maintain an erection and usually involves compromised penile arteries; arteries which have been narrowed and/or hardened most likely by the build up of cholesterol or plaque within the arterial walls. E.D. Can be caused one of several factors, which include poor eating habits, high cholesterol intake, smoking, stress, lack of exercise, high blood pressure conditions, etc?

One of the most common side effects associated with anti-hypertensive drugs is impotence.

High blood pressure medications and more in particular, those which contain either beta-blockers or diuretics have the effect of reducing a person's ability to obtain an erection.

For this reason, most men fear high blood pressure treatments. Fortunately, though recent studies reveal that sexual performance can be reestablished in men taking either one or multiple anti-hypertensive medications if the treatment also includes the use of vardenafil HCl (Levitra).

One Particular Study and its results

Recently, an extensive study relevant to the problem was performed in Germany. The study included 354 patients from 98 primary health care facilities in Germany. Apart from their high blood pressure conditions, all patients had been suffering from ED for at least 6 months. All participants were also taking either 1 or multiple anti-hypertensive medications including diuretics, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, etc? Alpha blockers were excluded.

In order to rule out psychological factors a portion of the participants received a placebo pill instead of Levitra. The rest of the participants received Levitra in 5 to 20 mg dosages. Participants were required to continue the treatment for a 12 week period.

All participants were required to keep a diary which included their answers to standardized questions concerning their particular ED issues. Eighty-three percent (83%) of patients taking the real Levitra claimed they were successfully able to have sexual intercourse with their partners. Only fifty-three percent of the participants taking the fake or placebo pill were able to do so. It made no difference whether the patient took either one or multiple anti-hypertensive pills simultaneously.

The fact that Levitra improved erectile function in patients taking multiple anti-hypertensive medications confirms the fact that it's possible to treat hypertension and at the same time prescribe an effective medication to treat ED. The study reveals that when a doctor treats patients with both high blood pressure and ED, combining Levitra with anti-hypertensive drugs will be beneficial 83 percent of the time.

Chronic inflammation appears to be the major underlying factor. Chronic inflammation sets up atherosclerosis and the attendant development of plaque. However, other factors such as genetic predisposition, cigarette smoking, and diabetes contribute as well.

One of the most important risk factors that can be modified is high blood pressure. And? unfortunately, this problem- high blood pressure- is extremely common in patients with RA.

Furthermore, according to a recent study (Panoulas VF, et al. Rheumatol. 2007; 46: 1477-1482), it is often under diagnosed and poorly controlled in patients with RA.

The authors studied 400 patients with RA who attended outpatient clinics in the United Kingdom.

Hypertension was found in 282 (70.5%). Only 171 (60.6%) of these patients had received a diagnosis of hypertension and were on drug therapy for it. The other 111 patients (39.4%) had not been diagnosed with hypertension.

The undiagnosed hypertension was most common in patients ranging in age from 35 to 54 years than in older patients.

More disturbing is that of the 171 patients with hypertension who were receiving treatment, only 37 (21.6%) were optimally controlled.

Predictors of uncontrolled hypertension in this group were elevated Body Mass Index and the presence of concomitant cardiovascular disease.

The researchers stated that, ?The young and elderly overweight patients with RA should be specifically screened for hypertension??

They also made the point- and a crucial one at that- that those patients with already existing cardiovascular disease must be identified and treated aggressively and monitored closely to ensure proper blood pressure targets are reached.

The take home message is quite clear. Patients with RA are at increased risk for hypertension and often the hypertension is under diagnosed and suboptimally managed.

Article Source : Blood Pressure Pregnancy

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Both John Scott & Nathan Wei are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

John Scott has sinced written about articles on various topics from Quit Smoking, PPC Advertising and Fitness. John Scott, the author of this article, is a medical journalist collaborating with "Man of People" site.Tags: ,. John Scott's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.

Nathan Wei has sinced written about articles on various topics from Arthritis Pain, Health and Arthritis Signs. Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info:. Nathan Wei's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.