Erectile dysfunction, arterial hypertension and heart diseases often coexist. So patients are forced to combine several types of medications, which may have dangerous interactions.
Therefore, one should be extremely careful when using two or more different drugs at the same time. Are there interactions between Cialis and Lisinopril (an antihypertensive medicine)?
Short Overview of Cialis Effect
Cialis (a PDE5 inhibitor used to treat ED) is a powerful medication which belongs to PDE5 inhibitor class. It is used to treat erectile dysfunction of different etiology and severity. It provides relaxation of smooth muscles in the penile organ thereby improving blood flow and natural erection processes.
Cialis generally has high safety profile.
However, you shouldn’t take it if you have severe uncontrolled high blood pressure or abnormally low blood pressure (as it can cause some insignificant effect on blood pressure level).
There are also other counter indications, including chronic heart failure and restrictive cardiomyopathy.
Attention!
So, if you have any of these diseases, you are prohibited to take Cialis (unless your healthcare professional allows this).
It is recommended to limit alcohol consumption while being treated with Cialis as this may increase the risk of side effects, such as lightheadedness, face redness, and headaches.
You might be interested: Viagra Side Effects – How Do They Occur And How To Eliminate Them?
What is Lisinopril?
Lisinopril (Antihypertensive Drug) is a pharmaceutical substance belonging to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. It is typically used as a first-line therapy for patients suffering from high blood pressure.
According to the statistics by the ClinCalc website, its popularity is very high (see a screenshot showing a number of prescriptions per year below).
As stated by Wikipedia writers, in 2016, Lisinopril was the second prescribed drug in the USA.
How does this drug work?
It reduces the level of angiotensin-II and aldosterone in the blood plasma, and also increases the concentration of the vasodilator bradykinin. As a result, lisinopril dilates blood vessels, which leads to a decrease in blood pressure.
Overdose
Lisinopril overdose may be very harmful for health. To combat this condition, a patient may receive symptomatic treatment.
In severe cases, hemodialysis is indicated.
Note that if you are administering Lisinopril
You will be probably recommended to minimize consumption of foods with high potassium content.
These include, in particular, bananas (one medium-sized banana typically containing 422 mg), oranges, cantaloupe, kidney beans, soybeans, honeydew, apricots.
In addition, don’t use salt substitutes (like Morton Salt Substitute, Nu-Salt, NoSalt) or potassium supplements while using the medication (unless you have the opposite instructions given by your doctor).
Cialis and Lisinopril: Possible Interactions
Considering the wide use of Lisinopril, it may be often co-administered with Cialis, which is also often prescribed to fight impotence (prevalence of erectile disorders is huge nowadays).
According to Drugs.com website, drug interactions between Cialis and Lisinopril belong to “minor” category, which means that the simultaneous use of these two pharmaceuticals is possible.
The website also says that official consumer information for this insignificant interaction isn’t currently available. Interactions may occur but they are usually not clinically relevant, don’t usually lead to harmful consequences or require therapy adjustments.
However, the doctor can determine if some changes are required.
Anyway, you shouldn’t take Cialis and Lisinopril at once, there should be some safe interval between taking these drugs.
Read our main article on this topic: Erectile Dysfunction Treatment And Drug Interactions
