Sex Important For Older Women

(WebMD) Long after menopause, sex remains an important part of women's lives — even if they have heart disease.

Nearly 40 percent of postmenopausal women with heart disease have active sex lives, find Ilana B. Addis, MD, MPH, and colleagues.

Addis, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson, was part of a team that analyzed data on 2,763 postmenopausal women. The women ranged in age from 50 to 79. Their average age was 67; nearly half were in their 60s and 37 percent were in their 70s.

"Sex is a part of the physical and psychological health of women of all ages," Addis tells WebMD. "In this group of postmenopausal women with heart disease, they do remain sexually active."

The findings appear in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Sexual Activity, Sexual Problems

Overall, nearly 40 percent of the women were sexually active. About two-thirds of these sexually active women reported at least one sexual problem.

That number may sound high, but studies show that 40 percent to 60 percent of all women — young and old, with and without heart disease — report some problem with sex.

The fact that women with heart trouble are sexually active and, like other women, encounter sexual problems does not surprise Stephen Bashuk, MD, who is an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.