The energy expended during the average person?s maximum sexual activity is equivalent to vacuuming. This knowledge might help heart failure patients, fearful of a cardiac event during sex, perform and enjoy sex ? which could increase their quality of life.
Most patients with chronic heart failure, when properly screened and treated, can safely engage in sexual activity, Dr. Mandeep Mehra, chief of cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, said in a statement. Men with heart failure can be treated for sexual dysfunction with medications such as sildenafil.
In the current Mayo Clinic Proceedings, included Mehra?s review on medical literature focused on sexual activity and chronic heart failure.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 4.9 million people in the United States have chronic heart failure. As the disease progresses, patients experience an increase in fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations or angina, all of which can decrease their quality of life and potentially interfere with sexual ability.
