In a study of nearly 700 heart attack patients, Swedish investigators determined that only 1.3% had engaged in sexual activity within two hours of their attack. Calling the "absolute risk per hour" very low, the researchers calculated that having sex once a week "only increases the annual risk of heart attack slightly." The risk is twice as great among people with a sedentary lifestyle.

The authors of the report, which was published in the British journal Heart, recommend that counseling should focus on encouraging patients to live a physically active life and not on abstaining from sexual activity.

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