Heart Attacks and Viagra Erectile Dysfunction Medications Safe for Men with Stable Heart Disease
Published 09/29/2015
Updated: 09/29/2015
If you recently had a heart attack, you may be wondering if it’s safe to have sexual intercourse. That’s a common concern among heart patients. Previously, there hasn’t been much information on this topic. However, new recommendations from the American Heart Association state that heart patients who can climb at least two flights of stairs without chest pain or shortness of breath can have sex and take erectile dysfunction medication.
Talking about sexual issues can seem embarrassing for heart disease patients. However, it’s important to realize that you’re not alone. Many heart patients are afraid to have sex after a heart attack. They worry that it could cause damage or trigger more health problems. This new study addresses this issue head-on. The advice from the American Heart Association will put many minds at ease.
The guidelines indicate that sexual intercourse slightly raises the risk of a heart attack, even if you don’t have heart disease. Most importantly, the evidence shows that heart disease patients don’t have more sex-related heart attacks than people who don’t have any cardiovascular problems. However, the results show that cheating men do have something to worry about. The stress of having an affair with a younger woman can put you at greater risk for a heart attack.
Most heart patients don’t worry about climbing stairs. But sex-related heart attacks seem to be a common concern. Dr. Glenn Levine is a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine and lead author of the study. He says that physicians often feel uncomfortable when talking about sex with their heart patients. Other times, he believes that doctors don’t feel like they have enough information to make a solid recommendation. These new guidelines will make it easier for doctors have this important conversation with heart patients.
The guidelines were published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation. The American Heart Association says that heart patients should always talk to their doctor about resuming sexual intercourse. It’s important to make sure that your condition has completely stabilized before having sex. Here is some additional guidance:
• If you recently had a heart attack, you can start having sex again after one week as long as you can climb two flights of stairs without cardiovascular or respiratory discomfort.
• If you have severe heart disease with symptoms such as chest pain while resting, you should not have sex until your condition significantly improves.
• If you have had bypass surgery, you should wait at least sex weeks before resuming sexual activity.
• If you had a minimally invasive procedure to clear blocked blood vessels, you can start having sex within a few days with your doctor’s approval.
• Erectile dysfunction medications are safe for men with stable heart disease.
• Exercise can reduce your heart attack risk and help you maintain good cardiovascular health for sex.
• The average risk for a second heart attack is 1 in 100,000 in any given hour. That number only rises to about 2 in 100,000 during sex.
Steven Schlosser
Dr. Schlosser graduated from Lafayette College Phi Beta Kappa and attended Georgetown Medical School. He had 4 years of medical residency training at Tufts University in Boston in both Gynecology and Internal Medicine. He has had a spotless medical career for the past 40+ years and is Board Certified.Read more
