Pillow Talk: First AHA Advice on Sex and CVD

Sex advice from the cadiology community.

New advice indicates that sexual activity is safe for the majority of heart disease patients and that doctors--as well as patients and their partners--should endeavor to bring up the subject of sex in discussions [1]. The guidance comes from the first-ever American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement to address the issue, which is published online today in Circulation.

Lead author Dr Glenn N Levine (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX) told heartwire that the recommendations are probably the most comprehensive on the subject to date and have been compiled by experts from various fields, including cardiology, exercise physiology, sexual counseling, and urology. Physicians, patients, and partners are reluctant to talk about sexual activity, but it is something "that is important to quality of life for most people, and we would not want to see patients refraining from sex out of undue concern about precipitating a heart attack or sudden death," he observes.

Wonder what is in it for them?



That.