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Joe Vesey-Byrne
Nov 14, 2017
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Sex which can be described as 'Heart-stopping' is actually incredibly rare, studies show.
The idea of sex being so good (or at least exhausting) that it gives older men a heart attack is not uncommon. Much of fiction operates under this premise - Gerald's Game, season one of Borgen, Downtown Abbey are all guilty of mixing cardiac health with pleasure.
A new study from the Journal of American College of Cardiology has fortunately put this idea to bed.
The paper, Sexuality Activity as a Trigger for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) claims that the more probable cause for an SCA after or during sex is down to pre-existing factors.
Researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Health analysed data previously collected in Oregon on the phenomenon of sudden unexpected deaths in 4,557 patients.
They found that most people who experienced an SCA after or during sex were male, middle-aged and often had a history of cardiovascular disease. Many of the men were taking medication for pre-existing conditions.
Even of the 4,557 of sudden unexpected death, only 34 were found to be sex related.
Although this is great myth busting news, the same study did find that of the 34, only 33 per cent of these people received CPR from the other person present, and only 20 per cent of the 34 survived the SCA.
The study advised further teaching of CPR, which could dramatically reduce the 350,000 average fatalities from SCA each year.
HT IFL Science