Can you take Viagra with a heart stent? You can be prescribed it: a stent on its own is not among the reasons the Australian Viagra leaflet gives for not taking it. What decides it is why the stent was put in and what you take now: Viagra is ruled out within 6 months of a heart attack, never taken with a nitrate for angina, and not for anyone whose heart makes sex inadvisable. Your doctor checks that your heart is fit enough first.
Does having a stent rule out Viagra?
No, not by itself. A stent is a small metal mesh tube left in a narrowed artery to hold it open after angioplasty, which in the heart is used to relieve angina or treat a heart attack (healthdirect — angioplasty). The Viagra leaflet's "do not take" list names nitrates, heart or blood-vessel problems that make sex inadvisable, a heart attack or stroke in the last 6 months, and blood pressure that is unusually high or low or not effectively treated — not a stent (Viagra CMI). The European label gives unstable angina and severe heart failure as examples of the heart problems meant (EMA — Viagra).
How long after a stent can you take Viagra?
No label sets a waiting time for the stent itself; the waiting time belongs to a heart attack. A stent is sometimes put in during or soon after one (healthdirect — PCI), and then Viagra is ruled out for 6 months after the heart attack (Viagra CMI) and Cialis for 3 (Cialis CMI); your doctor can tell you when you can start having sex again (Heart Foundation). If the stent was planned, for angina, no leaflet gives a period; the doctor who looks after your heart decides. See Viagra after a heart attack.
What about the blood thinners that come with a stent?
They are not on Viagra's interaction list. After a stent you take extra blood-thinning medicine such as clopidogrel or ticagrelor, which lowers the risk of a clot forming in the stent but makes bleeding more likely (healthdirect — PCI). Neither the Viagra nor the Cialis leaflet names clopidogrel or ticagrelor. Sildenafil did not add to the longer bleeding time caused by aspirin; for people with bleeding disorders there is no safety information, so the label asks for a careful weighing of benefit and risk (EMA — Viagra). A nosebleed on Viagra is a reason to call your doctor straight away (Viagra CMI). See aspirin and Viagra and Viagra with blood thinners.
What if you carry a nitrate spray for angina?
Then Viagra is not for you. Glyceryl trinitrate, isosorbide mononitrate or dinitrate, nicorandil and other nitrates, as sprays, tablets or patches, rule it out: together they may cause a severe drop in blood pressure that is hard to treat (Viagra CMI). The Heart Foundation gives the same warning about ED medicines and angina medicines such as GTN. If you get an angina attack while you take Viagra, do not take a nitrate for the pain; tell your doctor immediately (Viagra CMI). More in nitroglycerin and Viagra.
Is Viagra safe for narrowed heart arteries?
In the label's studies it did not reduce blood flow to the heart. In 14 men with severe coronary artery disease, 100 mg of sildenafil lowered resting blood pressure by 6–7%, did not change how much blood the heart pumped, and "did not impair blood flow through the stenosed coronary arteries"; in 144 men with stable angina on medicines other than nitrates, it made no clinically relevant difference to how long they could exercise before angina (EMA — Viagra). Swedish men with a past heart attack or a procedure to reopen or bypass a heart artery who used ED tablets lived longer than men on alprostadil, but that kind of study cannot show cause (Andersson et al., 2021). Serious heart events have been reported after Viagra, mostly in men with cardiovascular risk factors (EMA — Viagra).
Can Viagra help keep a stent open?
No. That idea comes from animal research — sildenafil reduced tissue regrowth in injured rat arteries (Yang et al., 2019) — and the Viagra leaflet gives erectile dysfunction as its use (Viagra CMI). What protects a new stent is the blood thinner prescribed with it (healthdirect — PCI).
What should you check before the first dose?
That the doctor prescribing Viagra knows about the stent and every medicine you take, including "any sprays or tablets you use for chest pain" (healthdirect — ED medicines). The Heart Foundation's rule of thumb: "if you can climb two flights of stairs without pain or shortness of breath, then you should be OK to have sex". If chest pain starts during sex, stop, and call Triple Zero (000) if it is severe, getting worse or not going away.
The short answer
A stent alone is not a reason to avoid Viagra; a heart attack in the last 6 months, a nitrate for angina, or a heart that cannot cope with sex is. Tell the prescriber about your blood thinners and any chest-pain medicine. For Cialis: is Cialis safe for heart patients? After a stroke: can stroke patients use Viagra? Other conditions: our guide to ED and health conditions.
