Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Lung Disorders | Viagra and Sleep Apnea

Johns Hopkins doctors advise men with a history of sleep apnea to consider the risks and benefits before taking Viagra.

Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by repeated episodes of breathing cessation (apnea) during sleep. These episodes last from 10 seconds to nearly a minute, ending with a brief partial arousal. Episodes of sleep apnea can occur (and disrupt sleep) hundreds of times throughout one night. An estimated 18 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, yet 95% of them are undiagnosed and untreated. Sleep apnea is about twice as common among men as among women.

And now there’s news that Viagra (sildenafil) may worsen severe sleep apnea.

A report in the Archives Internal Medicine (Volume 166, page 1763 ) suggests that taking Viagra at bedtime may worsen severe obstructive sleep apnea. This may be disturbing news to many men, because erectile dysfunction is particularly common among those with sleep apnea. Viagra prolongs the action of nitric oxide, which promotes upper airway congestion, thereby contributing to sleep apnea. The researchers studied 14 men with severe sleep apnea, who spent a night in a sleep lab having their breath and blood oxygen monitored after they took a single 50- mg dose of Viagra or a placebo.

Just one dose of Viagra significantly increased the amount of sleep time with a lower blood oxygen saturation level; while asleep, men who took Viagra weren’t getting as much oxygen as those who took a placebo. They also had more breathing pauses per hour.

Bottom line advice on Viagra and sleep apnea: If you take Viagra and have sleep apnea, talk with your doctor about whether the pleasures you derive from taking the drug outweigh the risks of worsening your nighttime breathing problems.

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Lung Disorders | Viagra and Sleep Apnea