A heart attack (or myocardial infarction) can be considered a circulation problem and occurs when the blood supply to the heart is either reduced or completely cut off.  This can occur because of a blood clot or a narrowing of the arteries.  When heart muscle doesn’t receive blood, the lack of oxygen will damage the heart muscle and it will begin to die.

Risk factors for Heart Attack

•  smoking
• high blood pressure or cholesterol
• physical inactivity
• obesity
• diabetes
• increased age
• family history
• being male.

What if you have already had a heart attack? What does that mean for your sex life?  After a heart attack, many men and women fear engaging in any type of sexual activity, and rightfully so.  It can be difficult to get back on the figurative horse, when you fear you may provoke another heart attack.  Interestingly, less than 1% of heart attacks come from having sex.  So sex, and its cousin physical activity, do not equate to another heart attack.  Lack of exercise is probably one of the things that got you into this mess in the first place. Getting back your physical peak is important after any type cardiac episode.

Signs of a Heart Attack

Generally, if your doctor clears you for physical activity then sex is included in this.  Even though you have the doctor’s go ahead for resuming sexual activities, there are a couple warning signs to watch out for.  

These include:

• Chest pain

• Fatigue

• Dizziness

• Palpitations

• Extreme shortness of breath

The exception to this rule is for those men on or considering using medication for erectile dysfunction.  Unfortunately these medications can be unsafe when combined with nitroglycerin, which is given to patients with a history of heart conditions.  Nitroglycerin tablets are used to prevent chest pain in people with heart conditions, and used as instructed by a ardiologist.