By Jennifer Villeneuve

Viagra, in addition to its well-publicized ability to cure impotency, also may help treat the potentially fatal condition, high altitude pulmonary edema, according to a study conducted by the Hammersmith Hospital in London.

Working with scientists at the National Center of Cardiology in the high-altitude venue of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Hammersmith scientists found that the same enzyme that restricts blood flow to the penis also restricts blood flow to the lungs, reports The Independent of London.

The study showed that Viagra inhibits the enzyme, phosphodiesterase, which degrades nitric oxide, says Peter Hackett, president of the International Society of Mountain Medicine and the foremost high-altitude doctor. In the lungs, nitric oxide dilates pulmonary blood vessels, thereby reducing pulmonary pressure. "Viagra means there is more nitric oxide in the lungs," Hackett said. More nitric oxide in the lungs means lower pulmonary pressure and a better chance at avoiding HAPE.

HAPE is caused by a dramatic pressure increase in the pulmonary arteries and capillaries, causing them to leak fluid into the lungs. Because HAPE can occur at altitudes as low as 9,000 feet, it is considered one of the most dangerous forms of mountain sickness.

Nifedipine is currently the most common drug used to treat HAPE, Hackett said, but Viagra may prove to be more effective.

"It's very interesting and promising that Viagra can block pulmonary pressure increases at high altitudes," said Hackett. He emphasized that more studies involving subjects who suffer from HAPE were needed.

So what are the chances of Viagra become a common treatment for HAPE?

Says Hackett: "High. Oh yeah, very high,"