The Independent - Viagra is linked to five deaths in the UK
January 16, 1999
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Viagra, the anti-impotence treatment that is still officially banned on the NHS, has been linked with five deaths in the UK in the past six months.
Figures obtained by The Independent from the Medicines Control Agency drug-licensing body show doctors reported 41 cases of adverse reactions linked with it between 1 July and 22 December. They ranged from minor symptoms such as skin rashes to serious ones such as heart attacks.
In 11 cases men taking the drug suffered heart disorders, four of whom died. But there is no indication whether they already had heart disease or were taking other drugs for a heart problem. The fifth death was a suicide.
The treatment was licensed in September but ministers advised doctors not to prescribe it on the NHS, other than in "exceptional" circumstances, until further advice was issued. That is still awaited but several thousand patients are estimated to have obtained it on private prescriptions.
The British Medical Association said the Government's failure to issue guidelines was putting patients at risk. It has threatened to defy the ban on NHS prescribing if it does not issue new advice by Thursday.
George Rae, chairman of the BMA's prescribing committee, said: "The side-effects highlighted by these figures could be worse, because the non-availability of the drug on the NHS is driving people to get it over the Internet. If doctors get the guidelines it will minimise the risk."
David Delvin, director of the Medical Information Service, who has treated 100 private patients with Viagra, said: "This is a very good drug which has helped vast numbers of couples. Serious side-effects are very rare but it is vital that men are properly screened before they go on the pills."
In the US, where it became the fastest-selling drug in history after its launch in March, Viagra has been linked with 130 deaths. The Food and Drug Administration ordered new labelling for the treatment in November because of the risk to men with heart disorders.
The new warnings make clear that people with a history of heart attacks or heart disease, and those with seriously low blood pressure, should be carefully examined before being prescribed Viagra.
However, the FDA has not changed its view that it is safe and effective.
A spokesman for Pfizer, the manufacturer, said there was no proof any of the deaths reported around the world were caused by Viagra. "The number of deaths isn't surprising if you think that 85 per cent of people with erectile dysfunction are over 45 and 6 million prescriptions have been written for the drug and 3 million men have taken it."
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