Death by Viagra?

Lesley Wilson, a female internal medicine physician, looked at her patient imploringly, urging him on with her eyes.

The man, an eighty-year old retired airline executive who had come to see Lesley in her office for a medical check-up, looked everywhere but at Lesley. From time to time, Dan Gosling (not the man’s real name) fumbled with the lapel of his coat, not really sure how to go about telling the supremely beautiful woman sitting across him his intimate problem.

Lesley, knowing from experience that there was more to Gosling’s walking in to her office and asking for a general check-up, said in her most assuring voice, ‘If it would help to take your time in telling me what you just said you’d like to discuss with me, I’d be here for you. Rest assured that it is my responsibility to keep whatever you are telling me confidential, and I would try everything in my capacity as a physician to help you in the best possible way that I can.’

For the first time since Gosling told Lesley that there was something he needed to discuss with her, after the medical check-up, he looked at her. All Gosling could see now was a concerned middle-aged woman, who wanted to help out.

The words blurted out of Gosling’s mouth. ‘I have erectile dysfunction.’ Lesley nodded understandingly, a signal for Gosling to continue.

The words were coming out slowly now. ‘For the past three years, I have not been able to have sex with my wife. I have tried everything possible to be able to get an erection, but nothing is working out.’ The man’s voice was now a croak. ‘I have heard about how Viagra tablets are helping a lot of people with my kind of problem and I would like you to give me some pills.’

Surprisingly to Gosling, Lesley took the man’s request as completely normal. ‘Are you taking any heart treatment drug that is known to react with Viagra to fatally lower the blood pressure, like nitroglycerin?’ The man shook his head.

Lesley went on. ‘From the check-up that I just carried out on you, you seem to be in a good fitness condition. You are not apparently suffering from any medical condition that is contraindicated for Viagra. Here is what I will do: I will start you on the 25mg dose of the pills, just a routine prescription really.’ Getting up from her seat, Lesley walked across to a shelf at an alcove of the room and came back with a white vial.

She handed Gosling the vial. ‘You can get started on the six Viagra tablets now.’

Two days later, Lesley received a shocking phone call from Goslings wife: Gosling had died the previous day while having sex with his wife after taking the tablets Lesley had ‘routinely’ prescribed for him.

The Dan Gosling’s story is a factual account among a number of reported incidents of how people have lost their lives while having sex with the aid of Viagra tablets.

Only in the UK, the number of Viagra-related deaths climbed to 31 within just a year of introducing Viagra tablets for sale in the country. However, a marketing manager of Pfizer, Inc., Andy Burrowes was quick to dispel such notion that Viagra was a high risk drug, when he said that the adverse side effects of the drug are well documented.

It could also be argued that the proliferation of internet sites which readily offer Viagra tablets to those people who want to buy Viagra online without prescription could be a contributory factor to this figure.