UNITED KINGDOM - 12-month-old Alfie Oliver, was born last July with a narrowing of blood vessels around his lungs and was given just weeks to live after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Parents Tracey and Rob Oliver were plunged into despair by the diagnosis, and Alfie was forced to endure a series of gruelling heart operations when he was just days old.
But after a team of experts from Great Ormond Street Hospital heard of his story they suggested the blue pills could open up his blood vessels and improve circulation.
Now Alfie's family are preparing for the first birthday they thought they would never see as he continues taking his Viagra.
And because of his young age the baby is not experiencing the notorious side-effects of the drug.
Mrs Oliver, 26, of York, said: "When they sat us down and said he needed Viagra we thought 'oh my goodness'. It's such a strange thing for a baby to be on, but it's literally saved his life."
Shortly after he was born Alfie was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries which meant the position of his aorta and pulmonary artery were reversed.
He underwent an emergency operation to repair his heart when he was just 16 days old, but despite initially showing promising signs of recovery he was soon back in hospital.
Alfie also suffers from the rare ailment pulmonary hypertension. As well as narrowing the blood vessels around his lungs it increases blood pressure, and often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms are similar to asthma.
Last October they were told he had between two weeks and two months to live, but after experts from Great Ormond Street heard of his ordeal they visited their Leeds colleagues and suggested Viagra could save him.
from Telegraph U.K.
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