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After studying five hundred heart attack survivors for a decade, a German report concludes that the sex life of heart attack survivors should not change.
The study was commissioned in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Of the 500 study participants, all the patients who practiced sex for at least once a week showed no increase in their risk of having a second heart attack than those who had no sex at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite, as the patients who had sex were healthier when the study concluded.
Until now, it was believed that sex after heart attack could induce a second cardiac event. The new findings proved that this is very unlikely. Even more, the majority of heart attacks that happened during the experiment did not occur in the next 48 hours after having sex.
Dr. Dietrich Rothenbacher, the study’s lead author and chairman of Germany’s Ulm University. said that the stress applied on your heart while you are having sex is not much different than climbing a staircase. Rothenbacher added that there may even be benefits in practicing more frequent sex, mostly at improving the overall life quality of their patients.
The German study also reinforces findings of previous studies that attempted to prove that sex life does not impact the health of heart attack survivors negatively. Dr. Steven Nissen, from the Cleveland Clinic, said that because there is such a strong body of evidence on this matter, he never puts limitations on those patients of him who ask whether they can have sex or not. However, Nissen is skeptic of whether sex life can improve his patients health.
Dr. Steven Nissen said that the situation is up to debate, because heart attack survivors who are having sex more often could be healthier than those who choose to practice the activity. The doctor warns that there are heart attack survivors who should definitely avoid the practice, in particular those patients who experience chest pains even after moderate exercise, or anyone who has doubts about resuming sexual activity.
Rothenbacher said that, in the end, it is up to the patient to decide for himself whether it is fine to return to sexual activities. However, he warns that if the patients still experiences symptoms such as chest discomfort or shortness of breath, it means that it the time has not yet come.
Photo Credits myhealthtips.in
