Researchers found that only 0.2 percent of the 6,848 sudden cardiac death (SCD) cases autopsied at a London hospital between 1994 and 2020 were related to sex. That means that for every 1,000 SCD cases, only 2 of them happened during or within one hour after sex. “We believe these findings provide some reassurance that engaging in sexual activity is relatively safe in patients with a cardiac condition, especially in younger (less than 50 years old) individuals,” the authors wrote.
What Is Sudden Cardiac Arrest and How Is It Different From a Heart Attack?
In sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the heart suddenly stops beating, thereby stopping the flow of blood to the brain and other vital organs, according to MedlinePlus. In a heart attack, the heart usually doesn’t stop beating. Without immediate treatment (as with a defibrillator), SCA usually causes death in minutes; it’s estimated that only about 7 in 100 people survive one outside of a hospital setting, per StatPearls. Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death, accounting for an estimated 80 percent of cases.
More Women Died Due to Sudden Cardiac Arrest Than Expected
Sex was a factor in 17 of the nearly 7000 cases included in the study. In the individuals who did have a sex-related SCD, average age was 38 years old, and about 1 in 3 cases were women — a substantially higher percentage than has been found in previous studies. Investigators found that nearly half of the cases involved some underlying heart problem. The other half were ruled to have sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, which is when someone dies from a cardiac arrest with no apparent cause.
Findings Should Ease Concerns About Risk of Sex for Younger People With Heart Conditions
The rare occurrence of SCD in this study — 0.2 percent — indicates that sex is relatively safe in this population, says Hugh Calkins, MD, director of the cardiac arrhythmia service and professor medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Calkins was not involved in the research. “These findings support what I’ve observed in 30 years of practice as a cardiologist and electrophysiologist, [that] having sudden cardiac death during sex is extremely uncommon. I don’t restrict my patients, whether they’re below 50 or above 50, in regard to sex because I think it’s a very unlikely trigger for cardiac arrest and quality of life is important,” says Calkins. If you’re concerned about having sex because of your heart or health history, talk with your provider, he says. “They should be able to address and ease your worries,” he adds.
