Heart Disease, Sexuality and Social Pressure

You can talk privately with your heart center healthcare team at any time without your parents. Although the heart center healthcare team always encourages you to involve your parents, these conversations can occur in private, and the discussion will remain between you and your healthcare provider.

Sexuality includes the ways our body works, our gender, our sexual orientation, and our values about love and relationships. It affects how we look, how we speak, and how we act and think about our bodies.

Sometimes a person’s sexuality can be affected by a serious illness, such as heart disease.

Having heart disease can affect how you feel about your body image and how you feel you look to others. It can also affect how tired or active you feel, and how you talk or express yourself. All of these make a difference in how you experience your sexuality when you have heart disease.

Talking about sex can sometimes be difficult or embarrassing. But it is really important to ask questions and to talk with your heart center healthcare team about your concerns. Your healthcare team can talk to you about these things during an office visit or on the phone. Do not worry, these conversations will be private. Your heart center team sees many teens and young adults, and you are not the only one with questions, so feel free to ask those tough questions that are important to you.

“If I hadn’t asked, I would have never known. I am glad I am informed to make the best decisions for me.” - Kelsey, age 17

If you are having intimate contact (like sexual touching or sexual intercourse) with anyone, it is important to talk to someone on your healthcare team about it.

Even if you are not having intimate contact now, but think you might at any time, it would be good to talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about this. There are some times that you might need to avoid sexual contact to stay healthy. Your heart center healthcare team is there to help you navigate these difficult issues.

“I talked to my doctor about sex, so I know the risks.” - Brady, age 18

Pregnancy can be different and may be dangerous for someone with heart disease. It is important that you take the time to talk to your heart center team about what the risks are for you.

If you are thinking about birth control options, it is important to talk to your heart center team first to make sure you are using the best type of birth control for you. For example, if you are thinking about birth control pills, not every brand is the same, and some brands may not be safe for your heart.

Just because you have heart disease does not mean that you are not exposed to peer pressure. But it can make it more important for you to avoid some things. Talk to your heart center team if you are considering any of the activities listed below so that you can have all the information you need to make the best decisions about your own health and safety.

“Having heart issues is a really good excuse for not wanting to do things that you would otherwise be pressured to do by peers. My experience has been that nobody questions you when you use it as an excuse, and the peer pressure to do whatever it is quickly stops.” - Katie, age 18

Alcohol is processed through your liver. Certain types of heart disease can impact your liver function and thus change how you might process alcohol.

Many heart medicines are metabolized by your liver and mixing them with alcohol can change how well they work. In some cases, alcohol can make your medicines less effective. In other cases, alcohol can mix with your medicine in a way that may cause you to experience toxic levels. Talk to your heart center team to make sure that you know what effects alcohol will have on the medicines you take.

“My liver function is checked annually. The heart and liver are closely related, so alcohol could hurt me more than the average person.” - Brady, age 18

Drugs can be particularly dangerous to individuals with heart disease. Some drugs stress your heart with high heart rates or with irregular heart rhythms and your health could be seriously threatened. If you have questions about any drugs, like cocaine, ecstasy, molly, oxy, or marijuana and how it could affect your heart, ask your heart center team. We would much rather have an open conversation about drugs than have your questions go unanswered.

“Certain drugs could react with the medications I take and alter my heart rate, so I avoid taking anything without my cardiologist’s consent.” - Brady, age 18

If you are thinking about getting a tattoo, talk to your heart center team about it.

Tattoos can cause serious infections of the heart that can be life threatening. It is important to know the facts and how to limit your risks before making a decision about getting a tattoo.

“Since I was a pre-teen, my cardiologist would talk to me about the risks of certain social practices including drinking, doing drugs, smoking, having sex, and getting tattoos or piercings. I have always erred on the side of caution with these activities, but it can also be difficult to draw the line between curious experimentation and risky behavior that could cause me harm. For example, I would not decide to get a tattoo at an unknown tattoo parlor while on vacation in California. A better decision would be to consult my cardiologist, research tattoo parlors, discuss my medical situation with the artist, and make an informed decision that is best for me.” - Lisa, age 21

“I don’t want a tattoo, but my cardiologist said to talk with her in case I change my mind.” - Brady, age 18