Sex and Stroke

Are strokes and sexual activity related? While people with a history of stroke or heart disease should consult their doctors about sexual activity, for the most part, sex is a healthy form of exercise for older people. Researchers who tracked 914 men for 20 years found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the risk of fatal heart attack by half, compared with those who had sex less than once a month. They also found frequency of sex and stroke are not associated together.

Sex After Stroke

Making love is an important part of many relationships. However stroke can bring about physical or emotional changes that can have an impact on your sex life. Sometimes stroke can cause an imbalance of hormones, leading to a wide range of sexual difficulties including difficulty getting an erection in men or low sexual desire in women. This may happen when a stroke affects the parts of the brain that are important for controlling hormones: the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.