DON’T BE AFRAID OF SEX

Exercise after a diagnosis of heart disease or a heart attack is vitally important.

A recent study by the American Heart Association showed that heart attack patients who undertook exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation were 20% to 25% less likely to die prematurely. Exercise strengthens the heart and keeps arteries and other blood vessels flexible.

After recovering from a heart attack or bypass, ask your GP what level of exercise is appropriate for you, says Jim Pate, a physiologist at the Centre for Human Health and Performance Exercise in London. Thereafter, the amount of exercise you tackle depends on what you did previously, says Dr Mike Knapton, GP and associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation.

‘We advise people to follow NHS guidelines of 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, but for more specialised advice get yourself referred to a cardiac rehabilitation service.’

Moderate exercise means getting out of breath – such as brisk walking, swimming or cycling. Mr Pate recommends using a heart rate monitor and getting a personal trainer or physiotherapist to assess a safe range for exercise.

A sensible approach would be not to exceed more than 90% of your maximum heart rate he says.

‘This means don’t push yourself to the point that

you can’t talk or respond to any questions.’

Watch for signs that you’re overdoing it — exhaustion, breathlessness, increased pulse — but don’t be afraid of pushing yourself a bit.

‘Physical inactivity is, on the whole, worse than physical activity,’ says Dr Knapton. ‘We have this ingrained belief that doing too much is bad for you, but that’s not the case.’

Another form of physical activity affected by heart disease is sex.

A poll conducted by the BHF last year found that 32% of people with heart conditions had sex less often and 19% had stopped – from fear of a heart attack, because they’d lost interest or felt unattractive because of scarring from heart surgery.

Patients can have sex again if they can walk a mile in 20 minutes or two flights of stairs in 20 seconds, says Graham Jackson, honorary consultant cardiologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals.