Sex After A Heart Attack: It May Be Safe

If you've been a victim of heart attack or stroke, new research reveals that it may no longer be dangerous to engage in sexual activity afterward.

Researchers at the Ulm University Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry in Germany categorized sex as moderate physical activity, meaning it typically requires little physical exercision.

"It seems very unlikely that sexual activity is a relevant trigger of myocardial infarction in this population," researchers noted, via The Los Angeles Times.  

In the study, researchers observed and analyzed data on the sexual activity of over 530 patients between the ages of 30 and 70 years old with cardiovascular diseases. This was studied for the past 12 months before experiencing a heart attack, while researchers then compared the data to sex frequency in order to verify if it lead to subsequent heart events, including stroke, heart attack or death.

Findings revealed that 55 percent of the participants had sex more than once a week; more than 25 percent had sex just once a week and 4.7 percent had sex less than once a month, while close to 15 percent said they did not engage in sexual activity a year before they had a heart attack.

Researchers also found that less than one percent of the participants said they had had sex an hour before they experienced heart attack. Yet this is a very small number compared to the 78 percent of participants who said they had sex over 24 hours before the event occurred. 

Based on these findings, researchers believe it is rather unlikely that sex itself is responsible for a heart attack. 

While sexual activity may remain a concern in some cases, researchers believe that other medical complications may be the reason for certain risks-including erectile dysfunction, which is oftentimes the result of certain heart medications.

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