Is Sex After 60 SAFE for Your Heart?
You’d be surprised how often my older patients ask me about sex.
They’re not necessarily worried about their ability to have it. But instead whether or not it’s a SAFE activity.
And, as you can imagine, it’s especially concerning for those folks who are ALREADY living with a heart condition.
If you’ve been wondering if you’re putting your own life on the line every time romance sends your heart rate climbing, I’ve got some GREAT news for you today.
We’ve all heard the stories before.
A guy sets out to have a little fun in the bedroom and ends up instead with his heart seizing up on him.
Sudden cardiac arrest is when your heart stops beating due to problems with electrical activity. And while there’s no shortage of tales of men and women who supposedly had this happen while having sex, there’s very little actual DATA on the topic.
Until now, that is.
Researchers analyzed people who had experienced sudden cardiac arrest to see if sex triggered their attacks. And thankfully, the answer was a clear “NO!”
Out of 4,500 hundred folks who had a sudden cardiac arrest, less than 1 percent occurred during or immediately after sex.
Even though the chances are MINIMAL, men still have a greater risk (about a 1 percent chance) than woman’s tiny .1 percent chance.
It’s perfectly reasonable to fear sudden cardiac arrest. After all, not many survive them.
But if this does ever happen to you or someone you know—regardless of when it occurs—one of the best ways to improve the chance of survival is to perform CPR.
This study makes it clear that sex is NOT bad for your heart. In fact, study after study shows just how beneficial a bit of fun in the sack is for practically every area of your life.
Below are 5 specific ways sex can make life better, according to science:
- It improves sleep. Sex dials down cortisol (the stress hormone) levels, which reduces stress leading to better sleep.
- It’s a powerful pain reliever. Romantic encounters increase the production of the “love hormone” oxytocin. This triggers an increase in powerful natural pain relievers called endorphins.
- It reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
- It’s excellent exercise. We all know the benefits of exercise, so why not have a little fun in the process?
- It can make you happier. (Duh!)
P.S. Recent research revealed running low on THIS common nutrient can send your risk for sudden cardiac arrest soaring. Click here to discover the fix.
SOURCE:
“Sexual Activity as a Trigger for Sudden Cardiac Arrest,” J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017 Nov, 70 (20) 2599–2600
