Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Guangdong, China.
Indian J Med Res. 2009 Dec;130(6):681-8.
Sexuality is a major way of intimacy in human being and it is very important in gender relationship, contributing to over all health. However, since association between sexual activity and sudden death determined by forensic autopsies related to cardiac or cerebral causes has been reported, some people with heart disease often abstain from sexual activity that could affect the quality of life. It is therefore important to learn the physical demand of sexual activity and the risk it may trigger. For decades, the cardiologists have conducted observational studies and clinical trials on healthy volunteers or patients. The most common indices responding to cardiovascular risks of sexuality were variances of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR), monitored by ambulatory blood pressure and dynamic electrocardiogram recording. BP and HR increase during the coitus just briefly and quickly recover to baseline level. Peak coital BP occurred at onset of plateau phase and quickly decreased, instead of emerged at orgasm as most people supposed. The metabolic equivalent of energy expenditure during the orgasm was relatively modest when compared with other physical exertion such as cycling. Epidemiological studies have suggested that sexual activity has favorable effect on health in the long term. This review summarizes and discusses the advances in the researches dealing with cardiovascular effects of sexual activity to better inform the cardiac patients.
性行为是人类亲密关系的重要方式，对性别关系非常重要，有助于整体健康。然而，由于法医尸检报告已经确定了与心脏或大脑原因相关的性行为与猝死之间存在关联，一些患有心脏病的人通常会避免可能影响生活质量的性行为。因此，了解性行为的身体需求及其可能引发的风险非常重要。几十年来，心脏病专家对健康志愿者或患者进行了观察性研究和临床试验。监测动态心电图记录的动态血压和心率是对性行为心血管风险最常见的反应指标。在性活动过程中，血压和心率会短暂而迅速地升高，然后恢复到基线水平。峰值性交血压出现在平台期开始时，而不是像大多数人想象的那样在高潮时出现。与其他身体活动（如骑自行车）相比，性高潮期间的能量代谢当量相对较小。流行病学研究表明，性行为对长期健康有有益的影响。这篇综述总结和讨论了有关性行为对心血管影响的研究进展，以更好地为心脏病患者提供信息。
