The study conducted by Bohlen et al1 suggested that increasing the duration of foreplay and varying the type of sexual activity may help minimize the stress of sex for patients with myocardial infarction. The most commonly reported causes of sexual dysfunction in the Western world are the patient's or spouse's fear: ie, expecting a catastrophic cardiac event during coitus; inhibition of sexual activity because of fear of angina or dyspnea during coitus; drug-related reduction in libido; or problems with erectile or ejaculatory functions.2
The presence of these problems in an emancipated society shows the real need for research in the field to alleviate these problems. In Indian society, however, where sexual problems are not openly discussed (particularly when a wife thinks that it is a sin to think of sex when her husband is suffering from a serious disorder), the problems of a heart patient remain more complex.