Sex Is Safe for Heart Patients With a Defibrillator
New study should calm fears of patients and their partners, experts say
An ICD shock during sex is not a common occurrence, Doughtery said. It happens to between 7 percent and 13 percent of heart patients with such an implant.
"We program them in such a way that it's very, very unlikely that regular physical activity or sexual activity would get their heart rate going in such a way that it would trigger the device," explained Dr. Gordon Tomaselli. He is chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
When it does happen, however, it's no small matter. "It's like a lightning bolt that goes through your body," Dougherty said.
But the electric shock cannot be conducted to the person's partner, regardless of the intimacy of the moment, Dougherty added.
Intimate partners also are much more concerned that sex could kill their ailing lover. About 26 percent of partners said they feared causing cardiac arrest during sex by somehow triggering a failure of the ICD to work properly. However, only 13 percent of ICD patients shared that concern.
Patients are given a set of physical activity restrictions when they leave the hospital, mainly to help their incision heal and make sure the electrical leads from the ICD to the heart don't get pulled out, Dougherty said.
Those restrictions should not prevent sex for most patients, however, Dougherty said.
"The level of physical exertion required for sex is about the same as walking up two flights of stairs," she said. "If a person feels comfortable walking up two flights of stairs, they should have the functional capacity for sex."
All concerns by patients and their partners about an ICD typically declined within about three months, the study found.
These results show that both patient and partner need better counseling before leaving the hospital, Dougherty said.
"We can't just focus on the patient," she said. "An intimate partner's level of comfort is also important for recovery, and their concerns warrant attention from health care providers."
This counseling could come from the nurses or mid-level staff who regularly check in with the patient to make sure the ICD is working properly, Tomaselli said. These health care workers are trained to answer questions about the device, and could respond to sexual concerns.
Sex Is Safe for Heart Patients With a Defibrillator
New study should calm fears of patients and their partners, experts say
An ICD shock during sex is not a common occurrence, Doughtery said. It happens to between 7 percent and 13 percent of heart patients with such an implant.
"We program them in such a way that it's very, very unlikely that regular physical activity or sexual activity would get their heart rate going in such a way that it would trigger the device," explained Dr. Gordon Tomaselli. He is chief of cardiology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and a spokesman for the American Heart Association.
When it does happen, however, it's no small matter. "It's like a lightning bolt that goes through your body," Dougherty said.
But the electric shock cannot be conducted to the person's partner, regardless of the intimacy of the moment, Dougherty added.
Intimate partners also are much more concerned that sex could kill their ailing lover. About 26 percent of partners said they feared causing cardiac arrest during sex by somehow triggering a failure of the ICD to work properly. However, only 13 percent of ICD patients shared that concern.
Patients are given a set of physical activity restrictions when they leave the hospital, mainly to help their incision heal and make sure the electrical leads from the ICD to the heart don't get pulled out, Dougherty said.
Those restrictions should not prevent sex for most patients, however, Dougherty said.
"The level of physical exertion required for sex is about the same as walking up two flights of stairs," she said. "If a person feels comfortable walking up two flights of stairs, they should have the functional capacity for sex."
All concerns by patients and their partners about an ICD typically declined within about three months, the study found.
These results show that both patient and partner need better counseling before leaving the hospital, Dougherty said.
"We can't just focus on the patient," she said. "An intimate partner's level of comfort is also important for recovery, and their concerns warrant attention from health care providers."
This counseling could come from the nurses or mid-level staff who regularly check in with the patient to make sure the ICD is working properly, Tomaselli said. These health care workers are trained to answer questions about the device, and could respond to sexual concerns.
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