GETTING to the top of the world’s highest mountain has always demanded a special form of staying power. But now a team of climbers on Everest will be given doses of Viagra to help perk up flagging performance during their final push for the summit.
The doctor who will administer the drug believes it will help exhausted members of the expedition to increase their oxygen intake from the thin air by expanding blood vessels in their lungs. Viagra uses the same mechanism to tackle erectile dysfunction.
Many heart patients are already prescribed courses of Viagra to help their blood circulation, and studying the effects of the drug at high altitude could provide valuable lessons for helping people suffering from lung complaints.
The team who will test the Viagra, led by the explorer David Hempleman-Adams, has just set out from Everest base camp and will head for the 29,035ft summit after May 17.
The climbe r s , who are recording their experiences in a blog on The Sunday Times website, will climb Everest from the Tibetan side on the technically more demanding north face. In addition to using Viagra, the team is also experimenting with fine dining on Everest to see whether eating gourmet meals can build up the body better than the typically high-calorie but foultasting food usually favoured by mountaineers.
Gi na Waggott, t he sole woman climber, will not be going to the summit, meaning only men will take part in the final part of the climb when the drug is likely to be used.
The expedition doctor , George Rodway, an expert in high-altitude medicine based at Utah University in America, said: “Some people at extreme altitude run out of juice: they have no energy.
“Viagra can dilate the blood vessels in the lungs in the same way as it does to help erectile dysfunction. It can improve blood flow and expose the body to more oxygen.”
Viagra expands the capillaries in the alveoli, the small air sacs deep in the l ungs where the walls of the blood vessels are thinnest and most oxygen is absorbed.
Some on the team have been concerned about the potential for inconvenient side effects from taking the Viagra.
“We are a lot of alpha males and we are worried about what will happen, but the doctor has assured us that as long as we are not having any sexual thoughts there shouldn’t be a problem,” said Hempleman-Adams. “And those kind of thoughts won’t exactly be top of our list when we are at 28,000ft.”
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