Women who have suffered a heart attack are afraid to have sex with their partner due to fear of having another one, according to a new study.
Females who have suffered myocardial infarction (MI), heart attack, reportedly resumed sexual activity with their partner within 4 weeks of the MI, according to MedPage Today. However, the women were engaged in less sexual activity than before the heart attack.
"The problem here is that women would like to resume sex after their heart attack, but they would like to be better informed about what's safe so they can have a more enjoyable sex life," Stacy Lindau, MD, of the University of Chicago Medicine and study co-author, told MedPage Today.
Researchers published their findings online in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
According to reports, 35 percent of women received professional counseling about resuming sexual activity after a MI. Women who received counseling did so after they were discharged from the hospital.
"Cardiac rehabilitation guidelines include identification and management of sexual dysfunction, yet evidence-based strategies to improve sexual outcomes, especially in women, following an MI are very limited," researchers wrote.
The scientist performed follow up interviews with 17 female MI patients who had a significant other and who were participating in the TRIUMPH (Translational Research Investigating Underlying Disparities in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients' Health Status Registry) study, "a prospective, multisite, longitudinal study of MI patients with a mean 12-month follow-up, according to MedPage Today.
The purpose of the interviews were "to gain contextualized, patient-driven understanding of communication and counseling about sexuality after an MI and to elicit themes related to the desired features of an effective intervention to address sexual outcomes following an MI," researchers wrote.
The authors added that the "vast majority of women interviewed did not recall receiving instruction from their physicians regarding the resumption of sex post MI," according to MedPage Today. However, most found the discussion with their physician vague or confusing.
To read the full MedPage Today article, click here.
