Most people being treated for heart disease can safely have sex, according to research that also suggests the risk of sudden cardiac death may rise for men when the amorous activity occurs during an extramarital affair.
Having sex is linked with less than 1 percent of all heart attacks and less than 5 percent of incidences of chest pain, the American Heart Association reported today. More than 27 million Americans have heart disease and it is the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The act of intercourse is generally comparable to climbing two flights of stairs, said Glenn Levine, a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the paper’s lead author. The scientific statement, published in the Dallas-based heart organization’s journal, Circulation, may provide a road map for doctors to counsel patients, Levine said.
Levine’s research group reviewed more than 100 studies to determine the risks. In autopsy reports of 5,559 cases of sudden death, 0.6 percent occurred during sexual intercourse, they found. Of those who died, 82 percent to 93 percent were men and 75 percent were having extramarital sex, in most cases with a younger partner and after excessive food and alcohol consumption, the report said.
Thanks to Dr. N for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.
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