Out Of Shape? Sex May Be Risky For Your Heart

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 — A new Journal of the American Medical Association study found a small increased risk that sex or an intense workout can indeed trigger a heart attack. But experts are quick to point out that both are still heart-healthy activities for most people.

After they analyzed 14 studies, Harvard and Tufts researchers found that episodic physical activity temporarily increased the risk of heart attack by 3.5 times and sudden death by 5 times; episodic sex raised heart attack risk by 2.7 times. (The term "episodic" refers to the fact that the effect of physical or sexual activity is short-lived — lasting 1 to 2 hours during and following these activities.) The study authors did not have data on sexual activity and risk of sudden death.

But the overall risk of having a heart attack after kickboxing or a romp in the hay is still very small: For every 10,000 people who strenuously exercised or had sex for an additional hour per week, there would be one to two cases of heart attack or sudden cardiac death per year, according to study coauthor Jessica Paulus, ScD, an instructor in the department of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health.

"It's important to understand that the risk is only elevated for a short period of time during and after the episodic physical and sexual activity," says Dr. Paulus. "These triggers have a relatively small impact on an individual's risk of heart attack over a long period of time." The small increased risk is dwarfed, she says, by the fact that, overall, regular exercise can actually decrease your absolute risk of heart problems by 30 percent.

Indeed, patients who were more active on a regular basis were less susceptible to the small risk increases from sporadic exercise or sex. Each additional workout a week decreased the risk of heart attack by 45 percent and sudden death by 30 percent, the study found.


So, Is Sex Safe for Your Heart?

This study isn't saying that you should skip sex or exercise because of potential heart risks. Rather, it's important to exercise regularly to help build your heart's endurance to minimize such risks.

When you engage in physically strenuous activity, your body experiences a surge in the hormone adrenaline, which speeds up your heart rate and raises your blood pressure. Regular exercise helps your cardiovascular system adapt so it's less susceptible to such adrenaline spikes, says Everyday Health heart expert Arthur Agatston, MD, a preventive cardiologist and best-selling author of The South Beach Diet Supercharged.