Coital cephalgia and ischaemic muscular work of the lower limbs

A case is reported of a patient who presented with coital cephalgia, and in whom an obstructive lesion of the lower aorta was demonstrated. Bicycle ergometry evoked an abnormal pressor response. The condition was cured by restoration of normal circulation. An abnormal pressor response to treadmill exercise was shown to exist in subjects with intermittent claudication, and in normal subjects with circulation to lower limbs artificially occluded. A pressor response to buttock or leg exercise or both is suggested as the cause of the coital cephalgia.