Sex after a heart attack: danger or benefit?

Myocardial infarction is a serious health disorder that affects the patients themselves and their partners, both physically and mentally. From the multiple information offered for today that helps victims to cope with this serious disease, recommendations about sex are an insignificant amount.

The new study, made by the American Heart Association, is based on a survey of 3,500 heart attack patients from 127 hospitals in the United States and Spain. Evaluation of the results revealed that only about 15 percent of these patients discussed sexual activity with a doctor within a month after myocardial infarction and that the recommendations that were given were inconsistent.

In fact, the question of intimate relationships after MI worries every second person who has survived a heart attack, and there is no difference whether this is a man or a woman. Therefore, information about the benefits and dangers of sex after a heart attack is quite relevant, and to obtain it, authoritative medical sources were used.

Video: Is it safe to resume sex after a heart attack?

Sex in patients with cardiovascular diseases

The restructuring of everyday life can be difficult for patients with heart disease. In particular, we have to think about previously unspoken questions. For example, do you need to eat this food? Is it possible to engage in this activity? Can the body cope with stress?

Among the many questions of this kind, a keen desire to find out whether heart disease, also called cardiovascular disease, will affect sex life stand out separately. In particular, many patients after MI are interested in, is it safe to have sex at all? According to a new scientific statement by the American Heart Association, it is most likely to have sex safely if the cardiovascular disease is in a stable state.

“Sexual activity is a serious area of ​​life for men and women with cardiovascular diseases and their partners,” said Glenn N. Levin, lead author of the application and professor of medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Cardiovascular disorders, such as myocardial infarction or chest pain, caused by heart disease, rarely occur or worsen during sexual activity, because this type of activity usually takes a short time.

“Some patients are afraid to maintain sexual activity, although in fact it is relatively safe for them,” said Levin, who is also the director of the cardiology department at Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center in Houston. “On the other hand, there are some patients for whom it may be reasonable to postpone the restoration of their sex life until their condition is stabilized.”

“If there is an unstable cardiovascular disease or serious clinical signs, you need to be treated and stabilize well-being before sex,” notes Levin, who is also a volunteer at the American Heart Association.

Do not hesitate to start a conversation with a doctor about heart disease and personal sex life.

If a cardiovascular disease was diagnosed, it is important to do the following:

• Ask your doctor to conduct a health assessment before sexual activity is resumed.
• If you have previously been diagnosed with heart failure or a heart attack, cardiac rehabilitation and regular physical activity can reduce the risk of complications associated with sexual activity.
• If you had to move MI to a woman who is thinking about contraception or the possibility of getting pregnant, you must first talk to your doctor.
• If you have to experience sexual dysfunction, you need to consult a doctor to find out if this can be due to cardiovascular diseases or anxiety, depression, or other factors.
• It is not necessary to miss the use of prescribed drugs that can improve the course of cardiovascular disease, due to the concern that they may affect the libido. Heart treatment should come first.
• Preparations for the treatment of erectile dysfunction are usually safe, although they cannot be used if treatment is carried out with nitrates to eliminate chest pain that occurs in the setting of coronary artery disease. Also, you should not enter 24-48 hours drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, because a lot depends on the pharmacological properties of the drug used.
• For women with postmenopausal and cardiovascular diseases, it is usually safe to use estrogen, which is topically or vaginally used to treat painful sex.

The need for further research to regulate sexual activity is often associated with features of the course of cardiovascular disease, especially in relation to women and the elderly.

Recovery sex after a serious illness

There are guidelines for helping physicians address this topic with their patients, but this can be a difficult subject to discuss. Nothing can replace the advice of the attending physician, but experts of the American Heart Association are complementary to a basic understanding of sex after a heart attack and ways to discuss it.

• When is it safe to restore sex life

Returning to sex after a heart attack is a terrible prospect for many people. Fortunately, this does not apply to most. “I think most patients can safely resume sexual activity,” says Elaine Steinke, a professor of nursing at Wichita State University and a member of the American Heart Association. “It’s hard to say exactly when it’s safe to return to sex. It all depends on the case, but most people can begin to have sex within six to eight weeks after MI, especially if they can do mild and moderate exercise without experiencing any symptoms. ”However, many who have experienced heart attacks without any -or special complications may renew intimate relationships within a week or ten days.

• What does low risk mean

Again, most people after a heart attack with a small risk can return to sexual activity rather quickly. These are people who did not have any symptoms after the attack, especially if it was six to eight weeks after MI.

If a patient is diagnosed with high blood pressure or a problem of angina, he still belongs to the category of patients with a low risk in terms of sex. The situation persists as long as these diseases are under medical control, that is, they respond positively to taking medications.

• How is intermediate risk determined

Patients after myocardial infarction with intermediate risk are those who do not know the reliable state of the cardiovascular system. “Some people may not have symptoms, but they have some risk factors related to cardiac activity,” says Steink. “If someone has a risk of rhythmic disturbances or blockades, they will most likely need additional diagnostics of the heart’s work before they can return to sex. In particular, stress testing can be carried out to determine the level of physical endurance of the patient. ”

• What is high risk

As an extra precaution, any patient who has had a heart attack no later than two weeks ago is placed in this category.

People who are at high risk of having problems with rhythm or uncontrolled hypertension are also subject to the occurrence of complications amid intimate relationships.

If there are uncontrolled health problems that can lead to a deterioration in the underlying disease or the emergence of new complications in the event of a resumption of intimate relationships, it is usually recommended to stay out of sexual activity until their health is under the control of a drug treatment.

• How to improve relationships with a sexual partner

When it comes to the topic of sex after a serious health problem, it is important that both partners take part in the discussion on the restoration of intimate relationships. “Patients who have experienced a myocardial infarction often have problems with it,” says Professor Steink. “They have at least a few problems, and sometimes more concerns and concerns about the resumption of sexual activity.”

Besides the fact that the doctor should have a conversation with both the patient who survived the MI and his partner about sex life, Steink recommends that partners who wish to relax in sex do other physical exercises together, for example, go for a walk. “Physically active participation contributes to the development of not only physical potential, but also intimacy,” says the professor.

• Doctors about the difficult conversation

As a rule, doctors are embarrassed to talk about sex with patients who have had a heart attack. This can be difficult for doctors because it is due to the caution present. “This conversation happens too rarely between a patient and a cardiologist,” says Barry J. Jacobs, a Psych. Psych. Psychologist, clinical psychologist and volunteer at the American Heart Association. “Therefore, I think it causes certain suffering.”

Giving someone the green light to engage in sex after IM, medical professionals take responsibility. But without such a discussion other serious problems may arise, for example, the patient will become depressed. Discussing sex with a doctor is very important; you just need to know that most often the patient should take the initiative to start a conversation about it.

• How to start a conversation "about it"

People who want to talk to their doctor about returning to sex after a heart attack should take the first step themselves.“Those interested in this issue must take the initiative,” says Jacobs. Steinke notes that common questions include:

• When can I start having sex?
• What is the best they should do?
• What poses can I use?
• What postures should I avoid?
• What are the risks?

The doctor also notes that talking about sex is easier if it is considered as part of the discussion of exercise. For example, there is a general way to determine physical readiness for sex after a heart attack: if a person can walk 1.5 km on level ground in 20 minutes.

• What you need to know if there is a stent

In order to treat myocardial infarction, stents could be inserted which are inserted into the blood vessels for their expansion. Other forms of change in blood flow are also sometimes used. When such interventions are usually recommended to follow the same recommendations as in other cases.

If there are no symptoms, after myocardial infarction, you can return to sex in general in a week or 10 days. It is important that a person can engage in light and moderate physical activity, such as 20-minute walking or climbing two flights of stairs in ten seconds.

• Precautions for those who have undergone surgery

After bypass surgery, the resumption of sexual activity depends on the degree of complexity of the surgical intervention.If the operation included a midline incision and dissection of the sternum, then such patients should wait at least six to eight weeks to be able to undergo at least a partial healing process. Once sex has been restored, utmost care must be exercised. This will help maintain overall well-being and the incision site in proper condition. Additionally, you may need to take painkillers, such as acetaminophen, just before sex. If the operation was minimally invasive, the patient may resume sexual activity sooner, but he should also discuss this issue with his doctor.

• The most suitable poses

Most people really do not need to worry about their intimate sphere of life after a heart attack. Despite this, there are still some suitable positions that they may want to use when they return to sex.

Comfort is the key to a normal start, so you should stick to what's familiar. “Now is not the time to try something new, like an exciting other posture or an unusual and fascinating place,” says Steink. “There is no perfect position, so it’s worth observing the usual proven poses and places, without experiments. It is also important to make sure that nothing interferes with breathing. ”

Other recommendations include:

• Good vacation.
• Break in one to two hours after meals.
• Limit alcohol consumption.
• Avoiding new partners.
• Slow start.
• Simplicity in kisses and touches.
• Masturbation, oral sex and vaginal sex are excessively active activities.

• Warning symptoms

If a person has pain in the chest during sex, he should stop and rest. If nitroglycerin was prescribed, the patient should use it to see if the drug helps or not. If pain persists for more than 10-15 minutes (even after taking nitroglycerin), you should seek medical help. The definition of shortness of breath, fatigue the day after sex, or the presence of insomnia should be discussed with your doctor, especially if they occur in a patient who has had a heart attack.

• Drug warning

Any changes in the use of drugs should be discussed with the doctor, even with the use of nutritional supplements. This is especially true when it comes to drugs that cause erectile dysfunction, because in combination with nitroglycerin, they can lead to a serious - potentially fatal - decrease in blood pressure. Taking nitroglycerin at one time of the day, and drugs for treating ED at another also do not eliminate this problem, therefore, the question of the combination of such drugs should be coordinated with your doctor.

Video: Sex After Heart Attack Everything You Need to Know