Viagra: What Can't It Do?!

In experiments using mice, researchers at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that a key ingredient of Viagra is effective in protecting the heart from damage caused by high blood pressure, according to a report by HealthDay News.

Sildenafil is that key ingredient, and it helps by enhancing the influence of a single protein, RGS2, which is important in reactions that protect against heart failure. For those of you who are wondering what RGS2 is, RGS2 is short for "regulator of G-protein signaling 2". The sildenafil enhances RGS2 and the reactions it is in by making them last longer, giving the heart more protection.

With this knowledge, there is hope that future treatments for heart failure, which is currently treated with ACE and ARB inhibitors, can be improved. This would increase the chances of survival for the quarter-million Americans (out of the 5 million Americans who are afflicted by heart failure every year) who die from heart failure.