Sex is one of the biggest concerns for heart attack survivors and people with heart
disease. How risky is it? A recent US report has some answers. The researchers concluded that sex is safe for most heart patients, as long as the person is
healthy enough to ascend two flights of stairs. So, as long as your date doesn't live in a third-floor walk-up, you're good.However, the study's author, Glenn Levine, a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, stressed that people should also do cardiac rehabilitation before engaging in any sexual activity.
Sex would probably be all right, they said, up to one week after a mild heart attack, when a patient should be able to ascend a few flights of stairs without discomfort.
Viagra was generally safe for men who had stable heart disease, they concluded.
In general, the doctors found that sex was a minimal risk in contributing to a first heart attack. On the other hand, they found that married men having affairs with younger women had the highest risk of sudden death during sex.
For couples under less stressful situations, sex can be beneficial. Dan Fintel, a professor of medicine at Northwestern University in the US, said that resuming sexual activity was safe and actually counted as part of the post-heart attack healing process.
