An active sex life may increase survival after a heart attack

Active sex life may boost lifespan after a heart attack: Survivors who have sex once a week are 37% less likely to die, study finds (but more often is LESS protective)

• People who had sex more than weekly were 33% less likely to die, an Israeli study found
• Less than weekly boosted survival by 28%
• The Goldilocks spot was weekly sex, boosting odds of survival by 37%
• It’s possible that being sexually active is a sign of better health rather than a cause of it, though the study authors insist sex boosts longevity 

An active sex life may protect heart attack survivors from dying in the years after their episode, according to new research in Israel.

The 22-year study, on 1,120 men and women under the age of 65, found sexual activity before a heart attack boosted survival rates – but the most important factor was how much sex they had after.

Those who’d been having sex more than once a week in the run-up to their heart attack were 27 percent less likely to die. (They were also more likely to be young, fit, and in a relationship). 

Weekly sex before a heart attack boosted odds of survival by 12 percent, and occasional sex by 8 percent.

After a heart attack, those who had sex once a week – no more, no less – fared the best.

It’s possible that being sexually active is a sign of better health rather than a cause of it, though the study authors insist sex boosts longevity

People who had sex more than weekly were 33 percent less likely to die, and people who had sex less than once a week were 28 percent less likely to die. 

The Goldilocks spot was weekly sex, boosting odds of survival by 37 percent.   

Sexually inactive people were also more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and multiple chronic health problems in the year before the heart attack than people who had sex more than once a week.

Less than half of sexually inactive people lived with a steady partner in the year before their heart attack, compared with 94 percent of people who had sex more than once a week. 

In the year prior to the heart attack, 67 percent of the people who didn’t have sex also didn’t exercise at all, compared with 45 percent of people who had sex more than weekly.

People who had sex more than weekly in the year before their heart attack were 49 years old on average at the start of the study, compared to an average age of 58 for people who had no sex at all the year before their heart attack. 

‘Not surprisingly, the people who were sexually active were more likely to be in a relationship, were younger, and generally healthier,’ Andrew Steptoe, head of the department of Behavioural Science and Health at University College London, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters. 

When researchers adjusted for age, lifestyle, other health conditions and socioeconomic factors, the link between being sexually active and survival weakened, Yariv Gerber of Tel Aviv University and colleagues write in the American Journal of Medicine. 

Gerber didn’t respond to requests for comment.

It’s possible frequent sex leads to biological changes that help people live longer, Gerber’s team writes. 

Sex is associated with longer caps on the end of chromosomes, known as telomeres, that tend to shrink with age and in response to stress, the study team writes. 

Longer telomeres are associated with longer life.

Regular sex is also linked to higher levels of the hormone testosterone in men and women, they add. Low testosterone is associated with both an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and low sexual desire – so people who have more sex may also have a lower risk of heart problems.

It’s also possible that being sexually active is a sign of better health rather than a cause of it. The study wasn’t designed to determine whether or how sex might help heart attack survivors live longer.

‘Sexual activity is often part of a close and loving relationship as people age, but the relationship is probably more important than the sex,’ Steptoe said by email. 

‘Although regular sex is part of healthy aging, people should not feel that they ‘ought’ to have sex in order to try to live longer.’

Source: Read Full Article