Study: Sporadic sex, exercise can kill

BOSTON, March 22 (UPI) -- A meta-analysis by U.S. researchers found occasional physical activity and sex can cause sudden heart problems that can be fatal.

Dr. Isa Dahabreh of the Tufts Medical Center and Jessica Paulus of Tufts University and Harvard School of Public Health, both in Boston, identified 10 studies investigating episodic physical activity, three studies investigating sexual activity and one study investigating both.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found people are more than three times more likely to get a heart attack or have sudden cardiac death when they are exercising as opposed to not exercising, while people were almost three times more likely to get a heart attack during sex or right afterward compared to when they are not having sex.

However, for every additional time per week an individual was habitually exposed to physical activity, the risk of heart attack decreased by approximately 45 percent and the risk of sudden cardiac death decreased by 30 percent, the researchers say.

The finding confirm why those who have been inactive physically should consult a doctor before entering an exercise program, the researchers say.