While the humorous title of this blog may make you laugh, don’t brush it off – it may actually be true. A 2012 study by the University of Florence found that, for men, “infidelity outside the home as associated with ‘a higher risk of major cardiovascular event,’ including fatal heart attacks.” Cheating Study: Men Who Cheat Are More Likely To Have Heart Attacks, The Huffington Post, May 24, 2012. Interestingly, this “sudden coital death” is more common when the man is having extramarital sex in an unfamiliar place than when he is having sex with his spouse at home or in another familiar place.
Other studies have also linked heart failure to extramarital affairs. In early 2012, the CDC analyzed autopsy reports and found that 75% of the people who died of a heart attack during sex were having extramarital sex at the time of death. In addition, a 2009 Italian study found that men in long-term extramarital relationships were more likely to have heart problems.
So what is the correlation between infidelity and heart health? While the researchers could not pinpoint a reason, it’s pretty easy to speculate. Keeping all the secrets surrounding an affair from a spouse and others in a man’s life can lead to a significant amount of stress, which certainly isn’t good for the heart. The cheater is literally living a double life and has to keep everything straight to avoid being caught by his spouse. In addition, cheating is often with someone younger, who the man may struggle to keep up with in the bedroom and in other areas of life.
Not only is infidelity bad for a marriage, it is also clearly bad for a man’s health. If you are having marital problems that result in your being tempted to cheat, it is better to discuss these issues with your spouse and figure out if the marriage can be saved. Your life may literally depend on it.