The following is an excerpt from a Q&A in the December 2013 issue of Today's Hospitalist magazine. The article features Elaine Steinke, a professor in the school of nursing at Wichita State University, who was lead author in a recent American Heart Association study on cardiac patients and sexual activity.
If you aren’t having "the talk" with your cardiac patients about sexual activity, new guidelines might help you find the words.
Previous guidelines from the American Heart Association addressed the timing and safety of resuming sexual activity after a cardiac event. New guidelines published online in July by Circulation go into the details of sex counseling. Most cardiac patients without ongoing acute chest pain can resume sexual activity within a week or so after discharge, says Elaine E. Steinke, PhD, APRN, lead author of the article.