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 in 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, the nation's top cause of death, 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 group’s journal, Circulation, may provide a road map for doctors to counsel patients, he said.
“It is only a modest number of patients with more severe or unstable symptoms who should defer sexual activity until evaluated and treated,” Levine said in a telephone interview. “Our recommendations apply to anyone of any age with heart disease, including younger persons with congenital heart disease and other patients including patients in their 70s and 80s.
After a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, it is reasonable for patients to be evaluated by their physician or healthcare provider before resuming sexual activity.
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's topically or vaginally inserted for the treatment of painful intercourse.
Decreased sexual activity and function — common in men and women with cardiovascular diseases — is often related to anxiety and depression.
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, the nation's top cause of death, 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 group’s journal, Circulation, may provide a road map for doctors to counsel patients, he said.
“It is only a modest number of patients with more severe or unstable symptoms who should defer sexual activity until evaluated and treated,” Levine said in a telephone interview. “Our recommendations apply to anyone of any age with heart disease, including younger persons with congenital heart disease and other patients including patients in their 70s and 80s.
After a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, it is reasonable for patients to be evaluated by their physician or healthcare provider before resuming sexual activity.
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's topically or vaginally inserted for the treatment of painful intercourse.
Decreased sexual activity and function — common in men and women with cardiovascular diseases — is often related to anxiety and depression.
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