More Sex Equals Less Heart Disease

Men should not underestimate the exercise element of regular sexual activity

Ukmedix News has reported on many occasions about the link between good hearts and good erectile function but a new study has looked specifically at the connection between frequency of sexual activity and heart health irrespective of erectile difficulties to see if there are any interesting and relevant links.

The researchers from the Dept of Epidemiology at the New England Research Institutes say that men who have sex less frequently are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. They noted that men who only had sexual intercourse once a month or less were more likely to have heart problems than those men who said they had sex twice weekly or more frequently.

Professor Hall who led the study collected data from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study to come to her conclusions. Over 1,100 men’s clinical data was analysed over sixteen years to show that frequency of sexual activity and heart health are directly related. The men who had more frequent sexual activity defined as 2 or 3 times a week had a 45% lower chance of suffering from heart disease than those men who only reported sexual activity once a month.

Men should not underestimate the exercise element of regular sexual activity. Having sex burns off a lot of calories, increases the heart rate and is a good form of cardio exercise which is comparable to a good workout. The researchers said that their study could be useful for doctors as an indicator of potential heart disease. They said that asking patients about sexual activity could be “clinically useful”. The other thing which was observed was that men who get regular sex are more likely to be in an intimate and healthy relationship which in itself provides lower stress levels and general well being.

From our own experience at Ukmedix News we know that doctors are likely to face a problem in that men are not always open and honest about the amount of sex that they get and therefore questioning them about the frequency of sex is not always productive. This research was published in the American Journal of Cardiology.