Sex After a Heart Attack: What You Need To Know

Your Average Middle Age Couple Who Are In Love And Wish To Be Sexually Active

Every man or woman who has had a heart attack has concerns when they can begin having sexual intimacy after recovering from a heart attack. Certainly the movie, Something’s Gotta Give with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, offers the protagonist advice about engaging in sexual intimacy after a heart attack until the man can climb two flights of stairs without shortness of breadth or chest pain. Every woman is concerned whether resuming sexual activity may trigger another heart attack in her partner. We know depression is extremely common after a heart attack, especially for women. This blog will attempt to answer some of those questions that men and women have after a heart attack.

First, most cardiologist believe it is helpful for men to be in a supervised exercise program. These cardiac rehab programs teach men and women that it’s OK for them to exercise after a heart attack.

However, if you begin to feel symptoms such as chest pain, abnormal shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, or palpitations, it definitely makes sense to slow down what you’re doing, whether you’re a man or a woman. If you’re pretty certain it’s angina, which is temporary pain or pressure in the chest when the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen, it might help to take your nitroglycerin tablet under your tongue.

Now the warning: Just like the movie, Something’s Gotta Give, men who use medication for erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra, Levitra, or Cialis, — they should not take nitroglycerin. Your blood pressure can fall to dangerously low levels, and there’s an increased risk of heart attack and even death. If you’re on an erectile dysfunction drug and have heart-related symptoms during sex, call your doctor.

Yes, and sexual intimacy is often related to the emotions that follow a diagnosis of heart disease. It influences people’s lives in many different ways, and sexual activity is one of them. A new diagnosis of heart disease — or even a surgical scar — can make people feel less attractive. Some drugs have side effects that diminish sexual interest and performance. When patients feel angry and frustrated, it affects not only their sex lives but also their “couple” relationships.

Sexual intimacy is like a stress test. Engaging in sex shows that you’re capable of doing physical activity in which your heart rate and blood pressure go up. In a sense, you’re doing a stress test on your heart. If you tolerate that well and you feel good doing it, it suggests good things about your overall level of fitness and therefore your risk of heart disease.
Sex can also be a sign of healthy relationships and social supports. It shows you have the opportunities, frankly, and that you’re interested and engaged. Sex is a barometer for overall health.

Bottom Line: Sex is a good thing and sex is okay after a heart attack if your doctor gives you permission to exercise and engage in sexual intimacy. This is a discussion every man and woman needs to have with their doctor after having a heart attack and before leaving the hospital.

10 New Years Resolutions You Can “Live” With

New Years resolutions are made and many are aborted in days or weeks after January 1. Here are 10 suggestions for better health that you can probably keep. If you do, you will probably have a longer and happier life.

1. Celebrate with a friend
People with social connections with family and friends are less likely to experience a decline in ability to reason and remember. Social activity may help preserve your ability to perform your day-to-day activities as you age.

2. Get a pet
People who own pets have healthier hearts and make fewer visits to the doctor. Dogs make better exercise partners than birds, as they want to go for a daily walk.

3. Chew some chocolate
Chocolate is now considered the darling of the heart healthy diet family. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which is a natural anti-oxidant that helps the body’s cells resist damage that may contribute to cancer.

4. Embrace your cup of coffee
Regular or decaf coffee appears to lower the risk of dying from chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and pneumonia. Coffee also protects against skin cancer, liver damage, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. One study purported that three cups of coffee a day may protect against Alzheimer’s disease or delay its onset.

5. Wine is wonderful
A glass of either red or white wine is heart-healthy. Even beer is good for the heart. The key to drinking either wine or beer is moderation-one glass a day for women; two glass a day for men.
6. Sex-A little is good, more is better
The damaging myth about older adults is that aging means putting your sex life on the back burner. Sex is good for you regardless of your age if it is safe sex. Sex causes the brain to release endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that act as painkillers and reduce anxiety. Sex also bolsters the immune system. More sex is also associated lower levels of depression.

7. Music is medicinal
Music boosts mood and reduces anxiety and even makes it possible to get a good nights sleep. Studies show that people feel less pain and need less pain medications after surgery if they listen to music while recuperating.

8. Nap like a baby
A mid afternoon nap can improve mood, memory alertness and learning. A 20 minute nap improves alertness and performance without leaving you feeling groggy. Sipping a cup of coffee before closing your eyes will help you wake up alert. It takes about 20 minutes for caffeine to enter the blood stream, so its effects start to kick in when you wake up.

9 Say hello to nature
Being around nature for as little as five minutes a day can boost your mood and sense of well-being.

10. Select a healthy soap
Soaps that contain antibacterial triclosan, which are no more effective than plain soaps, may be harmful. Washing your hands in warm water with plain soap for 20 seconds will be just as effective as using expensive antibacterial soaps.

Bottom Line: Ponce de Leon scoured the coast of Florida for what he hoped was the legendary fountain of youth. Five centuries later, no one has found the fountain of youth, but we can add youth to our aging process by just adhering to these 10 health resolutions. Happy New Year to all of my friends, family, and followers.

10 Reasons Why Sex Is Good For You

We all know that sex is fun and enjoyable, but how many know why good sex is good for your health and well-being? Let me share with you a few reasons to have sex with your partner.

1. Less Stress, Lower Blood Pressure
Having sex could lower your stress, and your blood pressure.
People who had had intercourse responded better to stress than those who abstained. The diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number of your blood pressure) tends to be lower in people who live together and often have sex. Women who get lots of hugs from their partner tend to have better blood pressure.
2. Sex Boosts Immunity
Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections. This might just be the perfect “vaccine” for the common cold!
3. Sex Burns Calories
Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more. It may not sound like much, but it adds up: 42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound. Doubling up, you could drop that pound in 21 hour-long sessions. Don’t want to run a mile? Try hopping in the sack for 30 minutes!
4. Sex Improves Heart Health
Having sex may be good for your heart. Men who had sex twice or more a week were half as likely to have a fatal heart attack than men who had sex less than once a month.
5. Better Self-Esteem
One of the reasons people say they have sex is to feel good about themselves. Great sex begins with self-esteem. … If the sex is loving, connected, and what you want, it raises it. If you’re already feeling good about yourself, a great sex life may help you feel even better.
6. Deeper Intimacy
Having sex boosts levels of the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which helps people bond and build trust. Women have higher oxytocin levels if they have more physical contact with their partner.
7. Sex is a pain relivier
Sex boosts your body’s painkillers, called endorphins. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, that may be why.
8. More Ejaculations May Make Prostate Cancer Less Likely
Frequent ejaculations, especially in 20-something men, may lower the risk of getting prostate cancer later in life.
It is my observation after 30 years in practice that men who have chronic prostatitis do better if they have frequent ejaculations compared to men who are abstainers.
9. Stronger Pelvic Floor Muscles
For women, doing pelvic floor muscle exercises called Kegels may mean will enjoy more pleasure — and, as a perk, less chance of incontinence later in life.
10. More sex and less sleeping pills
The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep.
Bottom Line: Getting enough sleep has also been linked with a host of other health perks, such as a healthy weight and better blood pressure. If you are still looking for a reason to have more sex, tell your partner “Dr. Baum said it was a good idea!”

Women, Want to Have An Orgasm? Start Your Exercise Engines

Most women think that sex is the only way to achieve an orgasm. An orgasm can occur with a partner or alone using self-stimulation or masturbation. Sex may not always be essential for orgasm: A new survey finds that some women can also experience the sensation while exercising. This study was published in a recent issue of the Journal Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

This type of orgasm is sometimes referred to as a “coregasm” because of its association with exercises that involve core abdominal muscles.
The most common exercises associated with exercise-induced orgasm were abdominal exercises, climbing poles or ropes, biking/spinning and weight lifting. This new study is interesting because it suggests that orgasm is not necessarily a sexual event, and we can learn from the study about the bodily processes underlying women’s experiences of orgasm.
The mechanisms behind exercise-induced orgasms and exercise-induced sexual pleasure remain unclear, but the researchers hope to learn more about the triggers for both experiences.
Bottom Line: Sex can be enjoyable activity between couples or even alone. New research indicates that sex and even orgasm can be achieved with exercise. So women if you are looking for another reason to sweat to the oldies, now you have another one!

Seniors Don’t Have To Be Sexy To Have Sex

Studies have shown that 70 percent of men and 35 percent of women continue to be sexually active over the age of 70. Sexual interest continues throughout life and seniors today need to know that they can still be intimate during their golden years.

Here are the truths behind the myths regarding seniority and sex.

Misconception: Lack of interest in being intimate.

Reality: Sexual interest continues throughout life. Society tends to have an ageist concept of intimacy, feeling sex among seniors is inappropriate or unnatural. There are enough men for women who are interested and many social outlets for seniors to meet others with whom they can become intimate. These include various organizations or clubs, church groups, dance functions, etc.

Misconception: Inability to perform.

Reality: Complications from aging, such as having to take more medications with side effects and chronic illness, may interfere with sexual function, but they do not eliminate it.

Misconception: Sexual dysfunction cannot be treated.

Reality: Erectile dysfunction is not always an inevitable consequence of aging, but it can often be a result of medications or anxiety. A person’s overall health may also be a concern, so be sure to discuss any issues you are having with your doctor. Medication to alleviate this condition is an option but only with doctor approval.

Misconception: Common illness or disabilities warrants stopping any sexual activity.

Reality: Intimacy is possible for those who may have some medical issues. Those with bone and joint limitations; limited cardiac and pulmonary reserve; and cognitive disorders can have sex, it just may take some patience and creativity. Common concerns include:

Heart disease: risk is low for another heart attack to occur while being intimate; in fact, an active sex life may decrease the risk of a future heart attack.

Diabetes: one of the few diseases that can cause impotence. Once diabetes is diagnosed and controlled, however, potency in most cases may be restored.

Stroke: rarely damages physical aspects of sexual function, and it is unlikely that sexual exertion will cause another stroke. Using different positions or medical devices that assist body functions can help make up for any weakness or paralysis that may have occurred.

Arthritis: can produce pain that limits sexual activity. Surgery and drugs can relieve these problems, but in some cases the medicines used can decrease sexual desire. Exercise, rest, warm baths, and changes in position and timing of sexual activity (such as avoiding evening and early-morning hours of pain) can be helpful.

Prostatectomy: rarely affects potency. Except for a lack of seminal fluid, sexual capacity and enjoyment after a prostatectomy should return to the pre-surgery level.

Misconception: Seniors cannot contract STDs.

Reality: Anyone who is not practicing safe sex is exposed to the risk of contracting a STD. According to Today’s Research on Aging, adults age 50 and older accounted for 10 percent of new HIV infections in the United States in 2006. In 2007, 34 percent of adults age 50 and older were living with AIDS. Find the safest method that works best for you.

** Remember, sexual activity is normal, healthy behavior. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions regarding sexual activity. There are many ways to be intimate without engaging in sexual intercourse. Intimacy can also be achieved through touching, holding hands, long walks, dancing and other forms of shared experiences. Communication between partners is most important.

Kiss Like A Movie Star And Avoid Kissing Mistakes

A kiss is more than touching your lips against those of another human being. A kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good luck, among many others. Whether it’s your first kiss with someone new or your lifetime partner, kissing usually leaves an impression — one that lingers long after your lips have locked.
Michael Christian, author of The Art of Kissing says that “The more that people kiss, the more they’re able to communicate on a romantic level.”
Most of us have clear preferences — turn-ons and turn offs — when it comes to kissing styles. For both sexes, the No. 1 kissing complaint is lack of variety, Christian says. He recommends kissing the different parts of your partner’s face and paying special attention to the ears and neck. He suggests biting softly on the lower lip and nibbling gently on the earlobe.

Women complain that men are too aggressive with their tongues. And men claim that women don’t open their mouths wide enough.

Two keys to a memorable kiss are pleasing your partner and pleasing yourself. Experts suggest starting with gentle kisses on the neck, move up to the ear, then go to the lips. Take some small breaks and then come back to the lips.

Put your whole body into the kiss. Without words, your lips should say, ‘Baby, there’s more where that came from. Don’t get hung up on what a kiss might lead to. Enjoy it for its own sake. A great kiss is an adventure in itself, not a stepping point to something else.
Steamy make-out sessions usually happen early on in a relationship, or the honeymoon period. But later on, when people are in a long-term relationship, they too often stop kissing and lose that intimate connection. In a Redbook poll, 79% of women said they don’t kiss their husbands nearly as much as they’d like.
You’ve got to keep kissing in the game. The emotional importance of a kiss is where it all begins and you shouldn’t let it go just because you’ve known someone for a long time.
Bottom Line: A kiss is more than a physical union of two pairs of lips touching. It is so much more and conveys an even greater emotion of love, tenderness, and positive feelings to the two people involved. Put kissing back into your relationship. It will make both of you feel good all day long.

This blog was excerpted from WebMD article by By Jennifer Soong in
WebMD Feature