A man in his 70s ended up with more than he bargained for after a dose of an impotence drug left him coughing up blood for three days.
Doctors who documented the case said only six other incidents of this type of reaction have been reported in patients taking sildenafil, more commonly known by the brand name Viagra.
The man, whose name was not mentioned in the medical case report, began coughing up blood shortly after taking sildenafil, which is used by millions of British men.
Over the next three, the report states, he coughed up approximately 50 ml of blood, the equivalent of little more than a shot glass.
Seeking help from doctors, she told them she had suffered a similar episode two weeks earlier, again after taking the little blue pill.
Doctors who documented the case said only six other incidents of this type of reaction have been reported in patients taking sildenafil, more commonly known by the brand name Viagra.
Doctors performed a thorough examination of the man, including an inspection of his throat and nasal passages, and a CT scan of his chest, and found no underlying condition that could have caused the bleeding.
This, and the fact that the man’s symptoms disappeared after he stopped taking sildenafil, led them to conclude that the impotence drug was the most likely culprit.
“The timing of the events, which coincided with sildenafil intake and discontinuation, together with the absence of abnormal laboratory results or treatment modifications, suggests a possible association between sildenafil intake and the events,” they wrote.
‘It should be noted that no further episodes have occurred since discontinuation of sildenafil treatment.’
The patient reportedly had no further episodes of hemoptysis, the medical term for coughing up blood, after one year of follow-up.
The doctors, who detailed the patient’s experience in the British Medical JournalHe said only six other cases of sildenafil-related hemoptysis have been reported in the medical literature.
Considering the drug is taken by millions of patients around the world each year, this makes it an incredibly rare and poorly understood reaction.
The authors of the case noted that there were factors in their patient’s medical history that could explain why the rare reaction occurred.
He suffered from kidney problems and was taking another drug called rivaroxaban, a blood thinner.
These factors could have combined with sildenafil, which works by temporarily increasing blood flow to the penis, to cause bleeding, they said, although they added that this was just a theory.
“Decreased renal function may affect the metabolism of sildenafil and rivaroxaban, which may explain the hemoptysis due to their increased vasodilatation (dilation of blood vessels) and anticoagulation effects, respectively,” they said.
They concluded that their case study demonstrated the need to monitor patients taking sildenafil while living with serious health conditions and taking other medications.
The authors added: “Further studies are needed to clarify the precise mechanism causing sildenafil-induced hemoptysis.”
The case report does not detail exactly where the patient was treated.
In 2023, the health service issued a total of 4.57 million prescriptions for sildenafil, better known by the brand name Viagra, and other types of impotence drugs sold under the brand names Cialis and Levitra.
This comes as data suggests millions of British men are taking the drug to boost their libido.
In 2023 alone, the NHS dispensed a total of 3 million prescriptions for sildenafil for erectile dysfunction.
This does not explain the fact that many other Britons buy it over the counter from private pharmacies or online, with some options costing just pennies a pill.
Other data, published earlier this year, suggests that sildenafil use varies by country.
This data suggests that Yorkshire men are the most likely in England to need help in the bedroom: 3.5 per cent of men in the East Riding received a prescription for sildenafil last year.
These were followed by men in Northumberland and Dorset, who came second and third for rates of prescription of the erectile dysfunction drug, around 3.2 per cent each.
The Yorkshire region appears to be particularly affected by impotence, with its towns and cities Rotherham, Barnsley, Harrogate, Scarborough and Whitby all featuring in the top 10 areas for Viagra prescriptions.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, men in the city of Leicester appeared to be the least likely to need the help of the little blue pill to maintain an erection, with a prescription rate of just 1.6 per cent.
While the vast majority of people taking sildenafil will not experience problems, it is estimated that one in 100 patients will experience common side effects from taking the drug.
These include headaches, nausea, hot flushes, indigestion, nasal congestion and dizziness, according to the NHS.
The most serious side effects requiring urgent medical attention are estimated to affect less than one in 1,000 people.
This map shows the areas where people were most and least likely to receive a prescription for sildenafil, the key ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, on the NHS.
These include seizures, having a prolonged and potentially painful erection, especially lasting more than two hours, chest pain, and in very rare cases, a life-threatening allergic reaction to the drug called anaphylaxis.
Earlier this year, MailOnline revealed that popular erection pills such as Viagra had been linked to more than 200 deaths in Britain.
None of the deaths (all of which occurred since 1998) have been shown to have been directly caused by drugs.
Erectile dysfunction, also called impotence, is thought to affect about half of men over the age of 40.
While most cases of erectile dysfunction are isolated and nothing to worry about, repeated or sustained impotence should be evaluated by a GP.
Erectile dysfunction, also called impotence, is thought to affect about half of men over the age of 40.
While most cases of erectile dysfunction are isolated and nothing to worry about, repeated or sustained impotence should be evaluated by a GP.
It can be an indicator of serious health problems, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, diabetes, hormonal problems, and mental problems such as depression and anxiety.
However, not all men are advised to take medications like sildenafil; for example, those with heart problems are warned not to take it.