Maybe it’s a myth, but the notion that sex can be dangerous for the heart has some prevalence. In films and TV series, we have seen that especially older men have had heart problems during sexual activity.
The study has been published in the journal JAMA Cardiology 1 and featured on the health website MedicalXpress 2.
Both men and women
The researchers have examined the patient records of 6,847 patients under the age of 50 who died after sudden cardiac arrest over 16 years.
17 of the deaths (which accounted for 0.2 percent of the participants examined) occurred either during or within an hour of intercourse. Of these 17, 11 were men. But: they weren’t old. The average age was only 38 years.
The researchers found that most of the younger men who died while having sex already had heart disease. Nine of the participants who died did not have heart problems.
For two of those who died, the cause was aortic dissection – which is a tear in the main artery that causes blood to penetrate the wall of the artery.
The researchers note that this most often occurs in people who over-exercise or take illegal drugs such as cocaine.
Thus, the researchers behind this study conclude that most people, especially younger people, do not need to worry about having a cardiac arrest and dying while having sex.
Sexually active and in good health
Another study carried out in Israel shows that people who survived a heart attack, and who had an active sex life, had a lower risk of dying in the next few decades compared to those who abstained from sex.
However, when the researchers adjusted for age, lifestyle, other health problems, and socioeconomic factors, the link between sexual activity and survival weakened.
The researchers acknowledge that being sexually active is a sign of better health and hardly a cause of it.
References
- Finocchiaro G, Westaby J, et.al. Association of Sexual Intercourse With Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Individuals in the United Kingdom. JAMA Cardiol 2022. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2021.5532 DOI
- https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-01-dying-heart-sex-rare.html
