Viagra Question
I take a generic high blood pressure medication called lisinopril. Does this drug interact adversely at all with the active ingredient in Viagra?
Answer
Lisinopril belongs to a family of blood pressure medications known as an angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE, inhibitors. This class of drugs generally causes little interference with optimal blood flow, because ACE inhibitors dilate blood vessels and thus increase blood flow. However, it’s estimated that a tiny percentage of men — less than 1 percent — taking the drug experience impotence as a side effect. For most men, it should not interact adversely with Viagra or any of the other oral ED drugs.
According to MayoClinic.com, the two classes of antihypertensives most likely to cause ED or at least make it more difficult to get an erection are diuretics and beta blockers. By flushing excess fluids from the body, diuretics can decrease the forceful flow of blood to the penis. They can also deplete the body’s stores of zinc, which are necessary for the synthesis of testosterone, the primary male sex hormone.
Beta blockers, especially older generation formulations of the drug, are commonly associated with ED. Among this class of drugs, you should avoid, if at all possible, those that contain propranolol (sold under the brand names of Inderal and Innopran XL), which is known to interfere with optimal erectile function.
In addition to ACE inhibitors, blood pressure medicines that are less likely to cause ED include calcium channel blockers and angiotensin II receptor blockers.
However, if you believe that your blood pressure medications are interfering with erectile function, talk to your doctor to see if he can switch you to a medication that has little to no adverse effects on erectile function.