Sudden coital death is no longer an old man's concern

If you thought sudden death during sex is just an old person’s problem, it is about time that you think again and begin to take stock of your health and your habits.

For years, global reports have highlighted the phenomenon of sudden deaths during sex which was usually associated with older folks in their 50s and 60s, but times have changed and due to the bad lifestyles choices, the problem now affects many younger adults.

Unhealthy diets, too much alcohol, smoking and a lack of exercise are amongst the bad lifestyle choices that can lead to more of us grappling with heart disease, high blood pressure and other cardiac illnesses, some of which may lead into sudden death during sexual activity.

Dr Joachim Osur, a sexologist based in Nairobi writes in his column for the Daily Nation that sudden death associated with sexual intercourse can happen during the act or within 24 hours of the act.
Most cases reported to the police happen in hotels, brothels, or in a house belonging to the sex partner of the victim which is not a usual place of residence of the deceased.

There is a possibility that such deaths are more common with non-regular sex partners because of the excessive stimulation and excitement that may occur in such sexual encounters.
However, death might occur even with regular marital partners, but police involvement and investigation may not happen due to low levels of suspicion of foul play.

According to a 2023 report from the Ministry of Health, Tanzania has seen a 9.4 percent increase in heart diseases and high blood pressure cases from 2017 to 2022.
Monitoring of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer, has increased from 1 percent in 1980 to 9 percent in 2020.

Your Health sat down with Cardiologist and Head of Adult Cardiology Unit at Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), Dr George Longopa, to shed light on the causes of sudden death during sex.
According to him, sudden death often occurs without warning and is not just an issue for the elderly.
“Sudden death usually comes as a result of a number of reasons. In this aspect, it means that the person who died didn’t have any problems before, which means he was tested and appeared to have no challenges, which is why we call it a sudden death,” he explains.

While age can increase the risk of sudden deaths, Dr George shares that there some factors that sometimes may play a catalytic role with these sudden deaths.
“When you get older, you are more at risk for diseases such as hypertension and for some, it is until you are taken to the hospital and told that you have such a problem that you become aware because you may not feel anything before,” he shares.

Explaining the scenario, Dr George further shares that there also is a percentage of these sudden deaths that come as a natural death.
“According to the reports that I’ve encountered, there is a 0.22 percent of natural deaths that happen during sex,” he explains.
Sharing the challenges, Dr George narrates that there are some things that trigger these sudden deaths during sex, and one of them is a myocardial infarction.
“Some people die because they have heart problems from a disease known as ‘myocardial infarction.' It's possible that this patient is already known to have issues with their blood vessels not carrying blood well, perhaps due to blocked cholesterol causing blockages in the arteries, or maybe a blood clot has caused a partial blockage. Alternatively, the person may have never been identified as a patient with such a problem at all,” he shares.

Myocardial infarction refers to a heart attack that is caused by a decrease or complete cessation of blood flow to a portion of the myocardium.
However, another factor Dr George mentions the myocardial demands, which can also be triggered during sex and other activities.
“You know sex is like exercise. You breathe heavily, sweat, the heart works a lot and the heart rate goes up. So now, there's something we call myocardial demand, meaning the capacity of the heart muscle to require both air and blood becomes significant,” he explains.

“Therefore, if someone had a myocardial infarction problem for a long time, it could go silent depending on how much their blood vessels are blocked,” he shares.
He further explains that the situation can occur to a person who has an active lifestyle, which means that they can sometimes experience the same challenges that may lead to sudden death if the person isn’t aware of the myocardial infraction.

Another factor that may lead to sudden death during sex is a pulmonary embolism.
With this problem, death can happen very quickly during sex if a person isn’t aware.
“A pulmonary embolism is the clot of blood that develops in a blood vessel and travels to an artery in the lung, which results in the blockage of the artery,” he says.

The problems that may lead to sudden death during sexual activity are now caused by so many factors which is why it is no longer simply an old man’s problem.
Dr George believes that one of the big reasons is the lifestyle options to which we are now exposed.
There are certain factors, including too much drinking of alcohol, smoking cigarettes, use of drugs, and too much weight gain that may contribute to these lifestyle diseases.
“You can see the numbers of adults today who are excessively drinking alcohol; their choices lead to erectile dysfunction. Because of this scenario, people find other means to stay in the game by using medicines that are usually prescribed for people who have heart issues.

“These drugs have one problem, some people who use them have not been advised by a doctor. You find someone has a blood pressure issue and is using blood pressure medication along with these drugs without checking if their blood pressure is already normal,” he shares.

He further adds that the mechanism of these drugs is usually vasodilation, which means that blood vessels in your body widen and allow more blood to flow through them.
“You find someone whose blood pressure is already low, and they continue taking those medications, causing vasodilation effects that impact blood pressure. As a result, the blood pressure drops further, leading to hypoperfusion, a reduced flow of blood to vital organs, including the brain,” he shares.

George shares that there is no way you can be sure of your heart’s condition before you have sex and avoid these sudden deaths during sex unless you see a doctor.
“These deaths, as we call them, are unpredictable. If someone knew they were going to have sex and would die, no one would do it. So, it just happens. I always emphasise that people refrain from using these medications before consulting a doctor, especially a heart specialist,” he says.

George further insists that it’s very important to do regular health check-ups to avoid these sudden deaths.
“For these things that we can prevent, I think people should undergo check-ups regularly because if someone faces these risks, they can receive proper care,” he explains.