Patients’ Need for Sexual Counseling in the Cardiac Rehabilitation Service

Objective: To evaluate the need for sexual counseling among patients with heart disease Materials and Methods: Data were collected from 363 patients with heart disease attending a cardiac rehabilitation outpatient clinic. Participants completed the questionnaire independently. Results: The participants consisted of 241 males (66.4%) and 122 females (33.6%) with a mean age of 57.69±14.50 years. Among them, 248 (68.3%) were married. Most participants (91.2%) agreed that healthcare providers should offer sexual counseling to all heart patients of reproductive age, and they wanted their healthcare providers to initiate the counseling. Factors related to the need for counseling were being male (OR=2.07; 95% CI =1.05-4.07), being married (OR=2.04; 95% CI =1.03-4.05) and being 50 years of age or younger (OR 9.05; 95%CI =2.06-39.82). The main obstacles affecting conversations about sexual activity with healthcare providers were feeling embarrassed (45.7%), being physically impaired (45.4%), and having a third person present during counseling (44.9%). Conclusion: Most patients with heart disease want to receive counseling on how to safely resume sexual activity following their illness. They expect healthcare providers to initiate such counseling during visits to cardiac rehabilitation clinics. It is crucial that healthcare providers provide counseling in a format that is tailored to the needs and preferences of each patient.