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Evaluating the cardiovascular tolerance for sex
1Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
The American Journal of Cardiology
|July 19, 2000
Summary
Sexual activity poses minimal cardiovascular risk, even for high-risk patients. Exercise testing is not essential for assessing this risk, as sex is a weak trigger for cardiac events.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sexual Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular tolerance for sexual activity is often compared to physical activity, but sexual arousal's role is significant.
- Exercise testing primarily evaluates functional capacity and limitations due to symptoms like angina and dyspnea.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the cardiovascular risks associated with sexual activity.
- To determine the utility of exercise testing in evaluating cardiovascular risk during sex.
- To characterize cardiovascular tolerance for sex based on functional reserve.
Main Methods:
- The study discusses the cardiovascular response to sex, including heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption.
- It compares these responses to the peak response during exercise.
- It analyzes the incidence of coition-induced myocardial infarction (MI) or death in different patient groups.
Main Results:
- The absolute risks of coition-induced myocardial infarction (MI) or death are very low, even in high-risk patients with ischemic heart disease.
- Sexual activity accounts for a small percentage (0.5-1.0%) of all acute coronary events.
- Cardiovascular symptoms during sex are uncommon in patients who tolerate exercise testing at 6 METS.
Conclusions:
- Sexual activity is a weak precipitant of acute coronary events.
- Exercise testing has limited value in assessing the risk of future cardiovascular events related to sex.
- Cardiovascular tolerance for sex can be understood through functional reserve, comparing sexual response to exercise capacity.
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