Sex Is O.K. For Heart Attack Patients

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 21 Jan 2012 - 0:00 PST

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A scientific statement from The American Heart Association clarifies that sexual activity for those with heart conditions is ok.

They caution that women should be counseled on use of contraceptive methods and possible adverse effects of pregnancy, while men should be wary of certain erectile dysfunction medications that are unsafe for all cardiovascular diseases.

The statement was published online 19th Jan. 2012 in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association , and contains advice from experts in a variety of fields including : heart disease, exercise physiology and sexual counseling.

Glenn N. Levine, M.D., lead author of the statement and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas said :

Sexual activity is a major quality of life issue for men and women with cardiovascular disease and their partners ... Unfortunately, discussions about sexual activity rarely take place in the clinical context."

It's important to address the issue because decreased sexual function in both men and women often accompanies heart diseases and can lead to anxiety and depression. The reality is that sexual activities don't generally put the heart under enough strain for long enough to be a problem to heart patients. Thus, the total rate of cardiovascular events caused by sexual activity is very low.

Levine, who is also director of the Cardiac Care Unit at the Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center in Houston said :

"Some patients will postpone sexual activity when it is actually relatively safe for them to engage in it ... On the other hand, there are some patients for whom it may be reasonable to defer sexual activity until they're assessed and stabilized."

The article provides a summary of advice relating to sexual activity, that heart patients should consider and be made aware of :

• After a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, it is worthwhile for physicians or healthcare providers to evaluate patients before they resume sexual activity, and patients can always seek advice from their doctor.
• Cardiac rehabilitation and regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications related to sexual activity in people who have had heart failure or a heart attack.
• Women with cardiovascular disease should be counseled on the safety and advisability of contraceptive methods and pregnancy, based on their patient profile.
• Patients with severe heart disease who have symptoms with minimal activity, or while at rest, should not be sexually active until their cardiovascular disease symptoms are stabilized with appropriate treatment.
• Patients should be assessed to see if their sexual dysfunction is related to underlying vascular or cardiac disease, anxiety, depression or other factors.
• Drugs that can improve cardiovascular symptoms or survival should not be withheld due to concerns that such drugs may impact sexual function.
• Drugs to treat erectile dysfunction are generally safe for men who have stable cardiovascular disease. These drugs should not be used in patients receiving nitrate therapy for chest pains due to coronary artery disease (blockages in the arteries that supply the heart with blood), and nitrates should not be administered to patients within 24-48 hours of using an erectile dysfunction drug (depending on the drug used).
• It is reasonable for post-menopausal women with cardiovascular disease to use estrogen that is topically or vaginally inserted for the treatment of painful intercourse.

The overriding theme of the article is to assure patients with heart problems that in all likelihood, they need not worry about sexual activities. It largely depends on a case by case basis and only those with very severe conditions need to be cautious about over exerting themselves. This applies both to sexual and other activities. As sex does involve an amount of physical exertion, patients can also assess themselves, and if needed, reduce or curtail the more demanding lovemaking, without inhibiting themselves completely.

Written By Rupert Shepherd
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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