Sexual counseling following acute myocardial infarction.

Sexual counseling needs of myocardial infarction (MI) patients are frequently overlooked by nurses. This study sought to determine to what extent sexual counseling of MI patients was addressed in the acute care setting. The survey of 96 patients showed that sexual counseling was largely not addressed for this group of patients and that specific information on resuming sexual activity was not provided for most patients. Seventy-one percent of patients believed that staff should address sexuality in the hospital setting. It was found that receipt of sexual counseling significantly differed by marital status of the patient. Nurses need to take a more active role in sexual assessment and education in order to improve the quality of life of patients post-MI.