Does regular sex prevent heart disease?

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Emmanuel Oluwadola

Claim: A viral Facebook post claims that having sex regularly prevents heart disease.

Verdict: Misleading! While sexual activity may contribute to overall heart health, there is no scientific evidence that it directly prevents heart disease. 

Full Text

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels. According to the National Health Service (NHS), CVDs are often caused by a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries, which can hinder blood flow and increase the risk of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes.

Amidst the global prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, including in Nigeria, there have been several social media claims suggesting that regular sexual activity can prevent heart disease. These claims often suppose that intercourse itself acts as a protective shield against cardiovascular conditions.

One such claim was posted on 24 March 2026 by a Facebook user known as Celebrity Nurse Esther. In a viral video, the user claimed (archived here) that regular sex, at least four times a week, can prevent cardiovascular diseases. The caption overlayed on the video read: “HAVING SEX REGULARLY PREVENTS YOU FROM HEART DISEASE.”

In the one-minute, 22-second video, the speaker states in part: “Frequent sexual intercourse prevents you from having cardiovascular issues or diseases. Sex has a lot of benefits, but I am channelling today’s video to heart issues or cardiovascular issues. Whenever you have sex, your heart tends to pump a lot of blood down to your system or your body, thereby preventing you from heart issues, high blood pressure, or cardiovascular disease. Make it mandatory. It is for your own good…”

As of April 26, 2026, the post had gained over 525,000 views, 14,000 likes, 769 comments, and 1,200 shares.

A survey of the comment section revealed mixed reactions from users. While some accepted the claim, some gave counteropinions and called for balance.

One Facebook user, Charles Diamond, wrote, “Are you now advising us to have nonstop sex?  Because I don’t understand someone like me who doesn’t have a girlfriend or wife, what should I do?”

Another user, Experience Doctor, cautioned, “Passing information like this will definitely generate traffic on comment sections… Sex helps your heart the same way exercise and relaxation do, so why not just recommend exercise, a good diet, and proper sleep? These are better and  certified medical health reasons or factors that prevent cardiovascular disease; sex has little or no significance in preventing cardiovascular disease…”

Mr Sam also added, “I hope you will tell them the kind of sex too, regular hard and rough sex is a red flag for a man. Sex involves activities of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems; this is where heart failure sets in for men. Also, nutrients lost through ejaculation can’t be recovered within a week. Sex is good, but not to be abused.”

The claim was also shared here and here.

DUBAWA fact-checked the claim, seeing that it is a public health issue, and because of its potential to make people rely on sexual activity as a medical substitute for professional cardiac care.

Verification

What does scientific evidence say?

We found that one of the most commonly cited studies is the Massachusetts Male Ageing Study, published in the American Journal of Cardiology in 2010. In this study, researchers followed up 1,165 men for over 16 years.

The research found that men who reported having sex at least twice a week were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease compared to those with less sexual activity. However, the study shows correlation, not causation. It did not conclude that increasing sexual frequency will prevent heart disease. The authors suggested sexual frequency as a useful clinical question to screen patients at risk of cardiovascular conditions.

DUBAWA further reviewed clinical studies and statements from global heart associations. A 2024 study conducted on 17,243 participants found a non-linear relationship between sexual frequency and cardiovascular risk. Very low sexual activity was associated with a higher risk, moderate frequency was associated with a lower risk, while extremely high frequency showed no additional benefit but potential increased risk. The study warned that both extremely low and extremely high sexual frequencies can be detrimental to health.

Is the effect the same for men and women?

A large-scale study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour (2016) by researchers at Michigan State University analysed 2,204 people over five years. The researchers found that very frequent sex puts older men at higher risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.

For women, frequency of sex did not significantly reduce heart disease risk. Instead, women with higher-quality sexual lives had a lower risk of hypertension. This suggests that the health impact of sexual activity varies by gender and context.

What do medical experts and guidelines say?

We found no major health authority that recommends sex as a primary strategy for preventing heart disease.

Established strategies for reducing cardiovascular risk include regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet and weight, avoiding smoking and managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes. Sexual activity may complement these habits, but cannot replace them.

Medical experts generally classify sexual activity as a form of moderate physical exercise, likened to climbing two flights of stairs.  It may indirectly benefit the heart by reducing stress, lowering blood pressure temporarily and improving sleep. However, these benefits are similar to those obtained from other forms of light exercise. Also, its short-duration activity has low-impact exercise for cardiovascular health.

The American Heart Association (AHA), in a scientific statement on Sexual Activity and Cardiovascular Disease, noted that sexual activity is generally safe for healthy individuals or stable heart patients. AHA recommends that “patients with unstable, decompensated, and/or severe symptomatic CVD should defer sexual activity until their condition is stabilised and optimally managed.” 

A health expert, Michael Blaha, in an article, emphasised that while sexual activity is a form of exercise that helps strengthen the heart, he recommends that people with heart disease symptoms, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat, among others, should abstain from any heavy physical exertion, including sex, until a doctor is consulted.

We interviewed a Nigerian cardiologist and heart failure specialist, Henry Oshaju. Henry emphasised that regular sex may correlate with better cardiovascular health. Still, it is not a proven protective treatment for heart disease.

“Regular sexual activity may be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events in some people. It can support overall physical fitness, reduce stress, improve sleep, and foster healthier relationships. However, it is not a reliable or standalone protection against heart disease,” he said.

Henry added that the practical, evidence-based steps to prevent heart disease include lifestyle and dietary modifications, control of risk factors, preventive healthcare, and regular screening tests.

“Heart-protective lifestyle, which is the core foundation, includes regular exercise: target 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity such as brisk walking or cycling. Adopt a heart-protective diet such as eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and whole grains, including fish. Use unsaturated fats and reduce salt and ultra-processed foods, among others.”

He highlighted that preventing heart disease relies on ending smoking and substance abuse, controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, exercising, eating a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting quality sleep, managing stress, having regular check-ups, and adhering to prescribed medications.

We interviewed another consultant cardiologist and internal medicine physician, Akinfaderin Damilola, from Futa Teaching Hospital, Akure, Ondo State. He explained that the predisposing risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, are on the rise in Nigeria due to rapid urbanisation and westernisation.

Akinfaderin clarified that while sexual activity, considered as a form of exercise, may reduce some of the risk factors or can play a role, it is not a primary prevention method for cardiovascular diseases, given the several other risk factors involved.

“Sexual activity has been classified as a form of mild to moderate physical activity, that is, during sexual activity, some physiologic conditions take place, which ultimately culminate in what is called exercise. But to say that sexual activity reduces cardiovascular disease, that may not be entirely correct because that’s not the only predisposing factor. 

“There are other risk factors. For example, family history and genetic factors in people who have channelopathies. It would be difficult to say exercise prevents such,” he said.

The cardiologist maintained that, to reduce the prevalence of cardiovascular disease effectively, clinical guidelines to reduce risk factors should be more strongly emphasised for public safety.

Akinfaderin recommended a low salt diet, stress management, regular exercise, adequate sleep, avoiding alcohol and smoking, and regular checkups for people with a family history, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. 

Conclusion

The claim that having sex regularly prevents heart disease is misleading. While some studies show that sexual activity is associated with better cardiovascular health, the relationship is indirect and influenced by overall lifestyle and health status. 

There is no scientific evidence that sex alone can prevent heart disease or serve as a medical intervention. Sex may be part of a healthy lifestyle, but it is not a substitute for proven cardiovascular prevention strategies.