Study: Sex can lead to heart problems

Sudden increase in strenuous physical activities or even physical stress while having sex can double the risk of heart attack and cardiac death, reported U.S. researchers.

It is well-known that heavy physical activities can endanger our heart, but the new study helps to analyze as well as quantify that risk.

The study
The study, conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Issa Dahabreh of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, was published in the Journal of the ‘American Medical Association.’

The team of scientists assessed data from 14 different studies, which highlighted the relation between exercise, sex and the possible danger of heart attacks or sudden cardiac death known as lethal heart rhythm.

According to the researchers, people become 3.5 times more prone to heart attack or sudden cardiac death while exercising. When they are not doing any heavy or mild exercise, they are out of danger.

The study also found that even physical stress during sex can lead to severe heart attacks. The risk increases at least 2.7 times during sexual intercourse, and just after it.

However, the study could not find any link between sex and cardiac death.

Exercise is bad?
Jessica Paulus, one of the researchers, informed that though the risk is high enough, the time span of increased risk is short.

"These elevated risks are only for a short period of time (1 to 2 hours) during and after the physical or sexual activity," said Paulus, in an interview over telephone.

"If you take 10,000 people, each individual session of physical or sexual activity per week can be associated with an increase of 1 to 2 cases of heart attack or sudden cardiac death per year,” she added.

The findings need to be compared with other studies which state that daily physical exercises, in a proper way can help lower the risk of heart attacks, as well as sudden cardiac death by 30%.

So, people should start an exercise program with mild activities at first, and then increase the intensity gradually.

Jessica said, "What we really don't want to do is for the public to walk away from this and think exercise is bad.”