Sex and the Heart

Since the identification of a link between erectile dysfunction and coronary artery disease and of the role of male sexual dysfunction as a marker of subclinical vascular disease, including coronary artery disease, sexual activity became a concern for both patients and physicians, regardless of the presence or not of a known cardiovascular disease. It is therefore fundamental for cardiologists (the most likely medical specialty involved with this disease) to understand the haemodynamic changes that occur during sexual intercourse in order to better counsel and treat their patients. Moreover, the advent of a powerful class of oral agents for the treatment of erectile dysfunction has made the importance of knowledge in this area even more apparent.