Viagra mends dog's heart

A dog with a chronic heart condition has been saved from an untimely death - by a prescription of Viagra. Springer spaniel Bentley was on his last legs with a nasty case of lungworm when his owners took him to the PetVet veterinary clinic in Highgate, but now he has perked right up again.

Vet Ben Harris, who works at the clinic in Archway Road, discovered the parasites had spread to seven-year-old Bentley's pulmonary artery and he was suffering heart failure as a result. He prescribed the dog a course of Viagra, the drug best known for treating erectile dysfunction in humans.

"Bentley first came to us in June when he was barely able to walk a few steps," he said. Lungworm is a very nasty disease that is transmitted by slugs and snails. Dogs eat them and pick up lungworm. Larvae from the molluscs then migrate to the pulmonary artery next to the heart. It can cause severe bleeding problems and is potentially fatal."



Although Viagra is not a standard treatment for lungworm, it was used with Bentley to treat the heart problem that had developed as a result of the disease. It works by relaxing blood vessels in the heart and lungs that have become narrow and fibrous.

According to Bentley's owner David Roach of Church Vale, East Finchley, the drugs have not produced any unwanted side effects. "He was neutered when he was very little so he's never had a very active reproductive life," he said.

"He will be on Viagra for the rest of his life now," added Mr Roach.