Heart disease does not exclude a full sexual life. You just need to take some precautions.
Experts from the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology* are convinced of this. They made joint recommendations that should help patients avoid risks during sex. Here are some tips that doctors suggest following.
1. Before planning intimacy, make sure you can do simple physical activity: for example, you can climb two floors of stairs without chest pains or breathing problems.
2. Make love in a calm environment, avoid stress in a relationship with a partner, and refrain from experimenting in bed.
3. For those who suffer from heart failure, it is best to have sex while standing up: this position does not create additional stress on the heart.
4. In a conversation with your doctor, tell him about how you feel during and after intimacy, as well as about any disturbing symptoms that you notice.
* See publication online on the European Heart Journal website on 29 July 2013.