Doctors using Viagra to help treat kids' heart woes, preemies

A shy, little New York girl with a rare heart condition will celebrate her 4th birthday later this month thanks to Viagra.

The erectile dysfunction drug has allowed Victoria Dooley to function at a greater capacity, as well as increase her life expectancy, CBS New York reports.

Victoria’s rare condition, discovered at birth, causes one side of her heart to fail, the station reported last week.

She’s had three surgeries and will likely need a heart transplant when she's a teen, according to her Dr. Anne Chun, a pediatric cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

Victoria is taking Viagra in low doses.

“It really helps to relax the blood vessels so that blood will flow normally from the body into the lungs and allow for normal oxygen levels,” Chun told the station.

Other children’s hospitals across the country are reporting similar life-saving results in kids with serious lung and cardiac problems, according to the station.

According to the station, small doses of little blue pill help premature babies overcome pulmonary hypertension -- a potentially lethal lung problem. The illness makes it hard for the heart to pump blood through the lungs and is the leading cause of death in preemies who live beyond their first month.