Viagra is the first orally administered phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1998 as the first truly effective oral medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

In the short time since its approval, Viagra has literally become a household word.

It is one of the fastest growing drugs in terms of sales and it has set many records for the number of prescriptions written. At the same time, it has spawned a host of urban legends. As a matter of fact, the mystique surrounding Viagra includes stories about women who have been attacked by sex-crazed husbands taking the drug and about men that have had heart attacks as a nasty side effect.

This article is to review what is currently known about Viagra, including its safety record and appropriate warnings about taking it. However, your physician is the best person to advise you about whether a drug is right for you based on your own medical history and current condition.

At first, Viagra was simply a byproduct of pharmaceutical experiments and was initially used as a treatment for high blood pressure. In its early tests as a hypotensive drug among young, male, medical students, it produced what is called an adverse event, an erection.

Researchers worked to determine the ingredient that caused this surprise effect and Viagra was reborn.