How Viagra, Cialis, Levitra Work

Viagra, Cialis and Levitra belong to the family of drugs termed PDE-5 inhibitors. They have proved highly effective for men suffering from the embarrassing condition referred to as Erectile Dysfunction (Impotence) which means difficulty in getting an erection hard enough to permit satisfying sexual intercourse.

These three drugs, known pharmacologically as Sildenafil, Tadalafil and Vardenafil respectively, all have essentially the same action within the body. Despite the reputation they have in some quarters of enhancing a man's maleness, they have nothing to do with virility or male hormones like testosterone.

Viagra, Cialis and Levitra are not able to treat problems like Premature Ejaculation or Male Hormone Deficiency - which are conditions that have a different aetiology and need different treatments.

By understanding what exactly erectile dysfunction is and how these medications work, it will be realised that in the vast majority of men, erection difficulty arises due to defective blood flow in the arteries supplying the penis.

When a male is sexually stimulated, a sequence of chemicals is released into his blood stream, the culmination of which is the release of a hormone called Cyclic GMP that acts to dilate the blood vessels going to his penis. When blood flow into the spongy tissues of the penis increases, the organ becomes turgid and erect.
Cyclic GMP does not last long at its site of action, being destroyed by an enzyme termed PhosphoDiEsterase or PDE. If the action of this enzyme could be inhibited, then the naturally produced Cyclic GMP would last longer, blood flow into the penis would be enhanced, and the man would have a more turgid penis - which in effect means a harder erection.

There are man reasons why erectile dysfunction is most visible in men over 45. The sex drive is often decreased even further in older men who use medicines. There is a misconception about sex that sex drive steadily lessens, as our age progresses ahead, so we accept erectile dysfunction as a natural problem. For many men erectile dysfunction may be more the result of treatable physical conditions rather than an actual loss of sex drive.

Erectile dysfunction is the result of over burden on man's body and his brain. Specialists in this field believe that impotence affects between 10 and 15 million men in America. Impotence usually has a physical cause such as some disease, any injury or drug side effects. Any problem that harms blood flow in the penis has the power to cause impotence. Incidence rises with age. About 5% of men at the age of 40 and between 15 - 25% of men at the age of 65 experience erectile dysfunction. Still, it is not an inevitable part of aging. But with the launch of viagra in 1998, things have changed.