Viagra can reduce heart attack risk: BMJ study

London : The little blue pill that helps men have sex can also be used to ward off heart attacks and heart failures, according to a recent study.

Lead scientist Andrew Trafford told the Daily Express that the findings are "incredibly exciting."

The University of Manchester researchers studied 6,000 diabetic patients in Cheshire who had been given Viagra, which works by increasing blood flow, to boost a flagging sex life.

Despite diabetics being prone to heart problems, the study participants did not suffer as many incidents as similar patients not on the drug.

Trafford said that the studies have shown that drugs normally used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, actually have a very pronounced effect in slowing the progression of heart failure as well as reducing the likelihood of fatal arrhythmias.

He added that they have recently established that patients who receive Viagra or similar drugs for erectile dysfunction are also far less likely to then go on and die from a heart attack.

The study will be published in the journal BMJ Heart.