Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, was devised to treat pulmonary hypertension or high blood pressure in arteries of the lungs. The drug works by suppressing an enzyme that controls blood flow, allowing the vessels to relax and widen. The same mechanism facilitates blood flow into the penis of impotent men. In the case of athletes, increased cardiac output and more efficient transport of oxygenated fuel to the muscles can enhance endurance.
A recent study conducted at Marywood University, students were given Viagra in a controlled study which provoked a lot of snickering and joking from friends and neighbors. Except that the Marywood study does not involve the bedroom, but the playing field. It is being financed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which is investigating whether the diamond-shaped blue pills create an unfair competitive advantage in dilating an athlete’s blood vessels and unduly increasing oxygen-carrying capacity. If so, the agency could ban the drug.
Does Viagra give athletes an advantage?
In reviewing results from the tests, Kenneth Rundell, the director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Marywood, said of Viagra, “Basically, it allows you to compete with a sea level, or near sea level, aerobic capacity at altitude,”
Not all experts agree with Rundell. Anthony Butch, the director of the Olympic drug-testing lab at UCLA, said it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” to prove that Viagra provides a competitive edge, given that the differences in performance would be slight and that athletes would probably take it in combination with other drugs.
The University of Miami is studying whether Viagra benefits aerobic capacity at lower altitudes…..comparable to heights where elite competitions take place. This study is also examining whether there is a difference in the way Viagra affects male and female athletes.
Through the decades, athletes have tried everything from strychnine to bulls’ testicles to veterinary steroids in a desperate, and frequently illicit, effort to gain an edge. Several years ago, word spread that Viagra was being given to dogs at racetracks, said Travis Tygart, the chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
At this point, there is no evidence of widespread use of Viagra by elite athletes. The drug is not prohibited and thus not screened with any routine urgency; there is no way to know precisely how popular it is.
Just thinking about the possible side effects can get pretty amusing.
