When you both feel ready for sex, start slowly. Once you have your healthcare provider's OK, having sex with a partner you know well, in nearly all cases, will not cause a heart attack. On average, sex takes about as much energy as climbing two flights of stairs. Here are tips for resuming safe sexual intimacy.
Be patient. Give your partner and yourself time to rebuild intimacy.
Helpful hints
-
Start out slowly and give yourself time to feel ready. Try hugging, kissing, touching, or caressing at first. They help you both feel close and wanted.
-
Foreplay is activities that arouse but are short of intercourse. They help the body relax for the activities to come next.
-
Choose a quiet, relaxed place to be intimate. Keep the temperature in the room comfortable.
-
Choose a time when you both feel rested. Try when you wake up in the morning or after taking a nap.
-
Wait at least
1 hour after eating, taking a bath or shower, or exercising before you have sex. -
If your healthcare provider has prescribed medicine to be taken before sex, take it as directed.
If you have problems
-
If you have chest pain (angina) during sex, stop and take nitroglycerin as prescribed. Call your healthcare provider as directed. Keep in mind that it is not safe to take nitroglycerin along with certain medicines for erectile dysfunction (ED). If you have chest pain after having taken a medicine that makes nitroglycerin unsafe, don't take nitroglycerin. Instead, wait and relax for a few minutes. If your chest pain does not get better and go away, call your healthcare provider.
-
If you have shortness of breath during sex, stop for a few minutes. If it doesn’t go away, or if it comes back when you resume sex, call your healthcare provider.
-
If you have trouble sleeping after sex, or you are very tired the next day, talk to your healthcare provider.
-
If you can’t become aroused, talk with your healthcare provider. ED is fairly common, especially in people who have heart disease. It may also be caused by certain heart medicines, especially those for blood pressure control. Your healthcare provider may be able to change the dose of your medicine. Or they may give you medicine to improve sexual function unless you are taking nitrates.
If you’ve had heart surgery
If you’ve had heart surgery, ask your healthcare provider when you can resume sex. Once your healthcare provider says it's OK, sex should not cause any harm. Healing from surgery most often takes
Find a cardiac specialist
Because every beat matters, our cardiac doctors are dedicated to providing care like no other can.
Related Articles
Intimacy and Heart Disease: Communication Tips
To help you listen to each other’s feelings, you might try this “talker and listener” approach. First, one person is the talker and the other is the listener. Then you change roles.
Pacemakers
A pacemaker is a small electronic device that helps your heart's electrical system beat at the right pace. Inserting the pacemaker into your body is called implantation. You stay awake during the procedure.
Taking Your Blood Pressure
You can take your own blood pressure reading using a digital monitor. Follow these step-by-step directions.
Heart Failure: Being Active
Being active doesn't mean that you have to wear yourself out. Even a little movement each day helps to strengthen your heart. If you can't get out to exercise, you can do simple stretching and strengthening exercises at home. Read on for helpful tips to be a bit more active.
