New angle for 'performance' enhancing drug

A recent study reported by The Los Angeles Times has found a new possible use for the drug Viagra. Researchers at Standford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System found that a group of ten trained cyclists, riding stationary bicycles in a simulated elevation of more than 12,000 feet, improved the average performance of four of the cyclists by an average of 39 percent compared to when riding with a placebo.

On its basic level the drug, known chemically as sildenafil, relaxes blood vessels and was originally developed to treat high blood pressure. Researchers studying the effects of high altitude environments began looking at the drug to compensate for pulmonary hypertension which narrows blood vessels, increasing the work put on the heart to pump blood.

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