Q: I am a 36 years old male suffering from hypertension. Earlier, I was taking Stamlo Beta and Olmy H for high blood pressure but I developed erectile dysfunction (ED) and the doctor changed the medicines to Teldy and Cilacar 10. Still, I suffer from ED. May you please guide me on certain medicines that can control blood pressure and not cause ED? Is it safe for me to take Penegra or Viagra?

A:Unfortunately, high blood pressure itself and most medicines used in its treatment do cause some level of erectile dysfunction. Also various drugs belonging to the same group have similar side effects. For example, there is hardly any difference between Teldy (that contains telmi-sartan) and Olmy-H (that contains olme-sartan and hydrochlorothiazide), the common link being sartan. There are internationally accepted guidelines on the treatment of high BP in young, sexually active males under the age of 55 years. The first option should be enalapril (sold as Enam) 5-10 mg 1-2 times daily. If a second drug is required, then one can add amlodipine (sold as Amlodac) 5 mg daily or a diuretic such as metolazone (sold as Metoz) 2.5 mg in the morning. There is no problem in your using sildenafil (sold as Penegra) 50-100 mg no more than once a day.