ED Pills and Blood Pressure Medication: What to Know
Do sildenafil and tadalafil lower blood pressure? What the prescribing information reports for ED pills taken with amlodipine, ARBs and other BP medicines.
By Juan Montes
Updated October 18, 2026 · 4 min read
PrescribedRX is a telehealth platform; prescriptions are written by licensed clinicians and filled by licensed partner pharmacies.
Short answer: Whether an ED medicine such as sildenafil (Viagra) or tadalafil (Cialis) is appropriate alongside blood pressure medicines is decided by a licensed provider who reviews your health history, your current medications and any sildenafil or tadalafil interactions. Both drugs widen blood vessels and can lower blood pressure a little on their own, and their prescribing information reports studies of each drug taken with common blood pressure medicines (Viagra prescribing information; Cialis prescribing information). Bring your full medication list to that conversation; your provider sets the dose.
Below, “Viagra 12.2” means that section of the Viagra prescribing information (revised 11/2023) on DailyMed, and “leaflet” means the patient information printed with it; Cialis citations refer to its prescribing information revised 3/2026. For general background, see our ED safety information.
Does tadalafil lower blood pressure?
The Cialis prescribing information describes tadalafil as having “mild systemic vasodilatory properties that may result in transient decreases in blood pressure” (Cialis 5.1). In a clinical pharmacology study in healthy men, tadalafil 20 mg produced a mean maximal decrease in lying-down (supine) blood pressure of 1.6/0.8 mm Hg compared with placebo, and 0.2/4.6 mm Hg standing, with no significant effect on heart rate (Cialis 12.2).
Does sildenafil lower blood pressure?
The Viagra prescribing information says sildenafil “has systemic vasodilatory properties that resulted in transient decreases in supine blood pressure in healthy volunteers (mean maximum decrease of 8.4/5.5 mmHg)” (Viagra 5.1). For how the two drugs differ in other ways, see how sildenafil and tadalafil differ.
Which blood pressure medicines have been studied with ED pills?
The prescribing information reports studies in which an ED drug was added to a blood pressure medicine. The figures are the extra drop in blood pressure (systolic/diastolic) compared with placebo, as each document reports them. The doses are the doses used in the studies, not dosing advice.
| Combination studied | Extra blood pressure reduction reported | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Sildenafil 100 mg with amlodipine 5 mg or 10 mg, in people with high blood pressure | 8/7 mmHg (supine) | Viagra 7.3 |
| Tadalafil 10 mg with amlodipine 5 mg daily | 3/2 mm Hg (supine) | Cialis 12.2 |
| Tadalafil 20 mg with angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) | 8/4 mm Hg (ambulatory measurement) | Cialis 12.2 |
| Tadalafil 10 mg with bendrofluazide 2.5 mg daily | 6/4 mm Hg (supine) | Cialis 12.2 |
| Tadalafil 10 mg with enalapril 10 to 20 mg daily | 4/1 mm Hg (supine) | Cialis 12.2 |
| Tadalafil 10 mg with sustained-release metoprolol 25 to 200 mg daily | 5/3 mm Hg (supine) | Cialis 12.2 |
The Cialis prescribing information also names doxazosin, tamsulosin and alfuzosin, alpha-blockers often used for blood pressure or an enlarged prostate, among the medicines studied with tadalafil (Cialis 7.1). MedlinePlus lists prazosin, silodosin and terazosin as other alpha-blockers to mention to your doctor (MedlinePlus: tadalafil). The AUA guideline lists anti-hypertensives among the medicines that “potentially can interact with or influence the metabolism of PDE5i” (AUA guideline).
These study results describe groups of participants, not any one person. Whether an ED medicine is appropriate with your blood pressure medicines is decided by a licensed provider who reviews your health history and current medications.
What should you tell your provider first?
The Viagra leaflet lists what to tell your healthcare provider before taking it, including whether you:
- have or have had heart problems such as a heart attack, irregular heartbeat, angina, chest pain, narrowing of the aortic valve or heart failure (Viagra leaflet)
- have had heart surgery within the last 6 months, or a stroke (Viagra leaflet)
- have low blood pressure, or high blood pressure that is not controlled (Viagra leaflet)
- have pulmonary hypertension (Viagra leaflet)
- have had an erection that lasted more than 4 hours (Viagra leaflet)
MedlinePlus adds that you should tell your doctor and pharmacist about all prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and supplements, naming alpha blockers and “medications for high blood pressure” for tadalafil (MedlinePlus: sildenafil; MedlinePlus: tadalafil). Also mention any medicine for chest pain, any prostate medicine and any recreational drugs. For side effects of tadalafil itself, see tadalafil side effects, and for how prescriptions for these drugs are handled here, see how oral ED prescriptions are handled.
Quick answers
Can I take Viagra with blood pressure medicine?
That is decided by a licensed provider who reviews your health history and current medications. The Viagra prescribing information reports a study of sildenafil 100 mg in people with high blood pressure taking amlodipine, with an extra supine drop of 8/7 mmHg compared with placebo (Viagra 7.3). Bring your full medication list.
Can I take Cialis with amlodipine?
The Cialis prescribing information reports a study of tadalafil 10 mg in people taking amlodipine 5 mg daily, with a mean extra supine blood pressure drop of 3/2 mm Hg versus placebo (Cialis 12.2). Whether it is appropriate in your case is decided by a licensed provider who reviews your health history and current medications.
Talk to a licensed provider
If you take a blood pressure medicine and are thinking about ED treatment, bring your full medication list, including any chest pain medicines, prostate medicines and supplements, to a licensed provider. The provider decides whether treatment is appropriate and sets the dose. You can also compare every ED treatment option.
Sources
- VIAGRA (sildenafil citrate) tablets, prescribing information and patient information, revised 11/2023. Viatris, via DailyMed (NIH National Library of Medicine). dailymed.nlm.nih.gov. Accessed Oct 2026.
- CIALIS (tadalafil) tablets, prescribing information and patient information, revised 3/2026. Eli Lilly, via DailyMed (NIH National Library of Medicine). dailymed.nlm.nih.gov. Accessed Oct 2026.
- Sildenafil. MedlinePlus, NIH National Library of Medicine, last revised 08/15/2023. medlineplus.gov. Accessed Oct 2026.
- Tadalafil. MedlinePlus, NIH National Library of Medicine, last revised 04/15/2023. medlineplus.gov. Accessed Oct 2026.
- Burnett AL et al. Erectile Dysfunction: AUA Guideline (2018). American Urological Association. auanet.org. Accessed Oct 2026.
This article is for general information. It is not medical advice and it is not a recommendation for any particular treatment. Whether a treatment is appropriate for you is a decision for a licensed clinician who has reviewed your health history and current medications.
About the author
Juan MontesJuan Montes writes and reviews PrescribedRX's clinical content, covering testosterone replacement therapy, men's sexual health, weight management and hair loss. He trained as a Professional Nurse at the Colombian Red Cross in Cali, Colombia, and has worked in healthcare since 2011, roughly six of those years in direct emergency and critical care nursing. He served as Head Nurse in Emergency…
More from Juan →This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Treatment is prescribed solely at the discretion of a licensed provider following a clinical evaluation.
