There is one particularly enjoyable activity widely believed to cause heart attacks, especially in people who already have heart disease.

Research has debunked this belief, however, so you are welcome to continue having fun doing this.

Many people with cardiovascular disease are worried about having sex, just in case sexual activity triggers a heart attack or stroke. If you are one of them, a paper published in the latest Journal of the American College of Cardiology has the best news for you.

German scientists asked 536 people who had already had a heart attack about their sexual activity (including masturbation) for the 12 months prior to the event. The participants ranged from 30 to 70 years of age, with a mean age of 57.1.

Of the participants, 19.4 percent reported having had no or almost no sex for the 12 months prior to the event, 25.4 percent reported having had sex less than once a week, and 55 percent reported having had sex once or more than once a week.

The last group was also younger, physically more active, suffering from less severe coronary vessel disease, and less likely to suffer from diabetes. In other words, those who had the least sex were actually the ones who suffered the worst cardiovascular disease.

During the following 10 years, the group had 100 serious cardiovascular events altogether, including strokes and heart attacks. Those who had sex once or more a week did not have a greater chance of a cardiovascular event, and a lot fewer than one percent of the ones who did have such an event reported having sex an hour before it.

It is, of course, important to stabilize your heart disease before you have sex; it won’t help to have sex fresh out of the hospital after a cardiac event before your doctor has cleared you for moderate physical activity. But once it is stabilized, you are probably safe.

So why is there such a strong suspicion in the general population that sexual activity causes heart attacks and strokes, especially in people who already have cardiovascular disease?

The truth is that people who engage in any physical activity is at higher risk of a cardiac event than people who are lying down. The question is, therefore, not whether you are at greater risk of a heart attack during sex than you are while watching television on the couch. You probably are. The question is whether sex is more likely than normal physical activities to bring about a heart attack.

A review of published studies in a 2011 issue of JAMA is informative. The majority of the studies the authors analyzed found that both physical and sexual activity increased the chance of a cardiac event. Because we spend so little time on them (compared to other things), and because their effects pass so quickly, the absolute risk of having a cardiac event as a result of having sex or exercising is extremely small.

That is what the German study tells us as well. It didn’t compare the likelihood of a cardiac event during sex with the likelihood of a cardiac event while doing something else. It just tested the chance of a cardiac event during sex, and found that it was incredibly unlikely.

This resembles the question: “What is the likelihood of being hit by a piano that someone has just thrown through a window?” The chance is minuscule. If you walk past myriad windows, your chance will obviously increase, but it will still be minuscule enough not to hunt for a detour to work.

The 2011 review also concluded that people who habitually exercise are at much lower risk of a cardiac event as a result of sex or physical activity, so start a good walking or running routine today or, even better, just start having a lot more sex.

The #1 task to prevent heart attack is, however, to get your blood pressure under control. Here is the most effective method I know to bring your blood pressure below 120/80 in as little as nine minutes…

And if high cholesterol is your concern, click her for the step-by-step strategy I used to completely clear my 95% clogged arteries…