This is because they are often with younger women in unfamiliar settings, which adds extra stress. The revelation emerged from a report published by the American Heart Association, looking at whether patients with heart problems could safely resume their sex lives after treatment, the Daily Mail reported.

The study found patients could resume sex as soon as one week after a relatively mild heart attack, as long as they could walk up a few flights of stairs without discomfort. The scientists, led by Professor Glenn Levine, from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said autopsy reports of nearly 6,000 cases of sudden death found 0.6 per cent happened during sex.