For many men the idea of dying during or shortly after sex is considered among the best ways to go, but new research suggests it is actually quite rare.
Researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Heart Institute analyzed data from Oregon and discovered only 0.7 percent of those who died from sudden cardiac arrest had undergone sexual activity up to an hour earlier.
A very helpful PR person just informed me that
— Lou Schuler (@LouSchuler) 12 November 2017
a) Sex rarely triggers sudden cardiac arrest
b) In case it does, my odds of surviving increase if my partner knows CPR
Open question: What if I just want to die happy? Should I make my wife promise NOT to perform CPR?
The researchers examined data from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study database between 2002 and 2015.
There were 32 male deaths and only two women fatalities following sex during that period.
There was also a higher proportion of deaths among African-American men.
Sexual Activity as a Trigger for Sudden Cardiac Arrest | JACC: Journal of the American College of Cardiology https://t.co/eJ6mUVqTlV
— Lifeline Ambulance (@LifelineIreland) November 12, 2017
Higher Number of Sex Deaths
In September researchers in France revealed men who suffered cardiac arrest while having sex were four times more likely to die than other victims.
The doctors behind the new research, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, have stressed the importance of public education on CPR "irrespective of circumstance".
They found that in two-thirds of the cases the victim's partner failed to attempt resuscitation, usually because they had not been trained.
#Sex is not a significant risk factor for sudden cardiac arrest, but when it does turn lethal, the #victim is likely to be an African-American man. @ACCinTouch
— Alberto (@almagoch) 13 November 2017
"Even though sudden cardiac arrest during sexual activity was witnessed by a partner, bystander CPR was performed in only one-third of the cases, said Dr Sumeet Chugh, senior study author and associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.
Need for More CPR Training
"These findings highlight the importance of continued efforts to educate the public on the importance of bystander CPR for sudden cardiac arrest, irrespective of the circumstance," he added.
The figures were for sudden cardiac arrest, as opposed to a myocardial infarction, which is what is better known as a heart attack.
Sudden cardiac arrest kills about 350,000 people every year in the United States.
