For heart attack survivors, each day is filled with many questions: What food can I eat? Which activities are safe? How much stress can my body handle?
But the question that often goes unanswered, and sometimes unasked, is how a heart attack will affect a person’s sex life—or whether it’s safe to have sex at all.
This is no small question. Sexual activity plays a big part in the quality of life for many men and women—and their partners, too.
Having the ‘Sex Talk’
With Your Doctor
One of the best ways to ease concerns about resuming your sex life after a heart attack is to have the “sex talk” with your doctor early on.
“It is important that patients talk to their doctor about their sexual function and concerns,” says Dr. Mary Ann McLaughlin, medical director of the Cardiac Health Program and co-director of the Women’s Cardiac Assessment and Risk Evaluation Program at Mount Sinai Heart.
This conversation may happen in the hospital or during a visit to a cardiac rehabilitation center. Not every doctor, though, will bring up this topic on their own.
A 2014 study published in the journal Circulation found that, after a heart attack, fewer than 20 percent of patients talked with their doctor about their sexual activity.
So patients may need to take it upon themselves to speak openly with their doctor about their concerns.
When Is It Safe
to Resume Sex?
It’s rare for people to have a heart attack during sexual activity. But there are some patients who would be better off waiting until their cardiovascular disease is stabilized.
So people should ask their doctor when it is safe for them to resume their usual sexual activity. This could be one to two weeks after being released from the hospital or after several more weeks.
In general, though, sex is not as strenuous as most people think.
“If a patient can walk up two flights of stairs without chest pain or gasping for breath,” says McLaughlin, “it is safe to resume sex with their usual partner.”
Heart attack survivors who have sex with a new partner—especially one that is younger—may be at more of a risk of having a heart attack during sex.
Whatever your situation, contact your doctor if you get chest pain or shortness of breath during sex.
Other Factors Affect Sexual Function
Even if your doctor has given you the all clear, other factors can affect sex drive and sexual function.
This includes the drugs used to treat cardiovascular symptoms. People concerned about these side effects, though, should not stop their medications without first talking to their doctor. Remember, the health of your heart comes first.
Heart disease can also affect sexual function—especially in men, because erections depend upon the flow of blood to the penis. In addition, erectile dysfunction is often the first sign of a problem with the heart, sometimes occurring even before the first heart attack.
While drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction are mostly safe, they may not be appropriate for men who are taking nitrate therapy for chest pains related to coronary artery disease.