Revatio – Usage, Side Effects, Dosage and Precautions

Revatio

Sildenafil is the common active ingredient for 2 medicines, Viagra – used for treating Erectile Dysfunction (ED), and Revatio – used for treating clogged arteries. Both these medications are produced by the company Pfizer. Pfizer is a pharmaceutical company that is based in the United States. It is a global drug giant and one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Primarily the purpose of Revatio is to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a serious blood pressure condition that affects the heart and lungs.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a type of illness that gets worse over time. A person going through PAH indicates that the individual has high blood pressure in the arteries, which are connected through the heart and the lungs. Due to PAH, the little arteries inside your lungs get more and more narrow which makes it increasingly difficult for blood to run through them, leading to increased blood pressure in the lung region.

Some of the early signs of the sickness include difficulty in breathing, fainting, rapid breathing, and rapid heart rate. The following are some important details to look up before taking the medication –

Usage:

By consuming Revatio, the active ingredient sildenafil relaxes and widens your lung’s blood vessels and hence makes it easier for the blood to flow through them.

Thus, it comes under the category of vasodilatory drugs. The drug Revatio comes in three forms:

• Revatio Tablets, for Oral Use: 

Which are provided as white, film-coated round tablets and are suggested to be stored at a room temperature of 20 – 25 degrees Celsius.

• Revatio for Oral Suspension:

Powder for oral suspension comes in glass bottles having 1.57 gm of sildenafil citrate. It is advisable to store it below 30 degrees Celsius in the original package to protect it from moisture.

• Revatio Injection:

Provided in a one-time use glass vial containing 10-milligram sildenafil/12.5 ml.

Revatio is generally taken thrice a day having a gap of 4 to 6 hours in between. It is highly recommended that you consult a medical practitioner before consuming the medicine and strictly follow the guidelines provided.

Side effects:

It has been stated that many people undergoing this medication haven’t suffered any major side effects, although certain less-severe effects occur to some people after consuming the medication:

• Headache
• Indigestion
• Nosebleeds
• Vision disturbance
• Flushing – redness of the skin

Some of the unusual side effects that occur in patients are:

• Fever
• Dizziness
• Insomnia
• Back pain
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Tingling
• Urinary tract infections

Remember after taking sildenafil, it is very important to tell your doctor or your pharmacist if you face the following allergies:

• Rash
• Itching
• Swelling
• Chest tightness
• Trouble speaking or focusing
• Unsteady balance or change in vision

These could be the results of some drug interactions with existing medicines that you are consuming.

Dosage:

It is important to keep in mind that increasing your dosage will not result in any faster improvements but instead will bear higher chances of producing side effects, which could be very harmful to your body. Your pharmacist or your doctor has prescribed you a dosage, considering various factors such as your medical condition, your body’s reaction to this category of medicines and keeping in mind other medications that you are taking.

Revatio is usually available in 10 mg and 20 mg pills (and a 12.5mL injection) and it must be consumed 3 times a day. Ideally, before meals would be perfect. Its PDE-5 inhibiting properties will increase the concentration of cGMP in the bloodstream. As a consequence, the blood vessels undergo vasodilatory effects and a smoother flow of blood within the arteries linked to the heart is restored. The half-life of Revatio would be about 4 to 5 hours and it imparts maximum effects for 2 hours. Around half the concentration of all Revatio pills consists of 50% of sildenafil citrate.

Precautions:

• Pfizer, the company that owns and produces Revatio recommends not to take Revatio if you consume any medications containing nitrates or Riociguat, a drug that is also used to treat pulmonary hypertension. If you consume medications containing nitrate substances or Riociguat no matter daily or infrequently, chances are that your blood pressure could drop to a risky level that can be potentially life-threatening.
• Revatio is not to be consumed if you’re sensitive to sildenafil. It is also strictly not for consumption by children.
• Since Revatio was designed to target lung diseases, it is not advised to use the medicine to gain an erection since the medicine is not altered to target your penis region. Viagra increases blood flow in the pelvic area, whereas Revatio does the same in the heart.
• Revatio and Viagra contain the same substance, sildenafil and hence it is not advised to consume both altogether. It can lead to a fatal drop in blood pressure and possible heart attack too.
• Victims of PAH who consume this medication and have a low blood pressure of 90/50mmHg must consume this medication with caution and under professional medical guidance.
• Mixing sildenafil citrate with alpha-blockers or nitric oxide can put the patient into a state of coma due to a severely low blood supply to the brain.

There are quite a few things to be taken into account before consuming Revatio or any other medication of the same type. Diseases are a serious issue, which is also why you cannot be consuming medication under improper supervision as it can have adverse effects on one’s health. It is recommended you consult a doctor and get the full description and prescription of the medicine.

Conclusion:

There is a common misconception that Revatio and Viagra, both can be used for blood pressure issues due to their vasodilatory properties. But the fact is that Viagra consumption helps in enhanced blood flow to the pelvic region of a male, whereas Revatio functions by broadening the narrow and clogged blood vessels in the arteries. This helps get rid of the excess plaque that is present. Combining your medication with some daily exercise, however basic, will prove to reduce the negative effects that PAH is having on your health.