PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Tialda Hoekstra
AU  - Ivonne Lesman-Leegte
AU  - Marie Louise Luttik
AU  - Robbert Sanderman
AU  - Dirk J van Veldhuisen
AU  - Tiny Jaarsma
TI  - Sexual problems in elderly male and female patients with heart failure
AID  - 10.1136/heartjnl-2012-302305
DP  - 2012 Nov 15
TA  - Heart
PG  - 1647--1652
VI  - 98
IP  - 22
4099  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/98/22/1647.short
4100  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/98/22/1647.full
SO  - Heart2012 Nov 15; 98
AB  - Objectives To investigate perceived sexual problems in a large group of younger and older patients with heart failure (HF), with and without a partner, focusing on a broad range of perceived sexual problems, and compare this with a sample of healthy community-dwelling elderly people. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting 17 HF clinics and general practices in The Netherlands. Participants 438 patients with HF and 459 healthy community-dwelling elderly people. Main Outcome Measures Differences in sexual functioning, related factors and perceived causes of sexual problems between patients with HF and healthy community controls. Results In total, 59% of HF patients reported sexual problems, mostly problems with erectile function. HF patients with a partner (67%) and younger patients (65%) reported significantly more sexual problems than healthy community controls (58%, p=0.011 and 53%, p=0.011, respectively). Multivariate analyses show that sexual problems in HF patients with a partner were more common in men (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.572 to 4.753) and in those with a prescription of β-blockers (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.586). In younger patients, sexual problems were independently associated with male gender (OR 3.21, 95% CI 2.099 to 4.908) and having a partner (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.283 to 3.110). HF patients mainly attribute their sexual problems to symptoms of HF. Conclusion Sexual problems are common in patients with HF, particularly in younger patients and those with a partner. As patients attribute their sexual problems mostly to HF symptoms, adequate treatment and education of HF patients is needed.