New research suggests that the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, which was initially developed as a treatment for heart disease, could help children with a rare condition called pulmonary arterial hypertension. The drug, which is expensive to take regularly and has side effects, is already approved to treat the condition in adults. And some pediatricians use it to treat children, said Dr. Thomas Kulik, senior associate in cardiology at Children’s Hospital Boston. But it has not yet received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for that purpose.
