What is Cialis?

Cialis (tadalafil) relaxes muscles found in the walls of blood vessels and increases blood flow to particular areas of the body.

Cialis is used to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence) and symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy (enlarged prostate).

Another brand of tadalafil is Adcirca, which is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Do not take Cialis while also taking Adcirca, unless your doctor tells you to.

Important information

Some medicines can cause unwanted or dangerous effects when used with Cialis. Tell your doctor about all your current medicines, especially riociguat (Adempas).

Do not take Cialis if you are also using a nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems, including nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate, isosorbide mononitrate, and some recreational drugs such as «poppers». Taking Cialis with a nitrate medicine can cause a sudden and serious decrease in blood pressure.

Contact your doctor or seek emergency medical attention if your erection is painful or lasts longer than 4 hours. A prolonged erection (priapism) can damage the penis.

Stop using Cialis and get emergency medical help if you have sudden vision loss.

Before taking this medicine

You should not take Cialis if you are allergic to tadalafil, or:

• if you take other medicines to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, such as riociguat (Adempas).

Do not take Cialis if you are also using a nitrate drug for chest pain or heart problems. This includes nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate, and isosorbide mononitrate. Nitrates are also found in some recreational drugs such as amyl nitrate or nitrite («poppers»). Taking Cialis with a nitrate medicine can cause a sudden and serious decrease in blood pressure.

To make sure Cialis is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have any of these other conditions:

• heart disease or heart rhythm problems, coronary artery disease;
• a recent heart attack (within the past 90 days);
• a recent history (in the past 6 months) of a stroke, or congestive heart failure;
• angina (chest pain), high or low blood pressure;
• liver or kidney disease (or if you are on dialysis);
• a blood cell disorder such as sickle cell anemia, multiple myeloma, or leukemia;
• a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia;
• a stomach ulcer;
• retinitis pigmentosa (an inherited condition of the eye);
• a physical deformity of the penis (such as Peyronie’s disease); or
• if you have been told you should not have sexual intercourse for health reasons.

Cialis can decrease blood flow to the optic nerve of the eye, causing sudden vision loss. This has occurred in a small number of people taking Viagra or other drugs similar to tadalafil. Most of these people also had certain pre-existing eye problems or risk factors for blood vessel disorders (such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, smoking, or being over 50 years old). It is not clear whether Cialis is the actual cause of vision loss.

Tadalafil is not expected to harm an unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

It is not known whether tadalafil passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Tell your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.