1. ¹Department of Urology, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
2. ²Cardiology Department, Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Center, Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence: Dr C Kaya, Department of Urology, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Bulgurlu mah. Uygarkent sit, A4 blok D17 Uskudar, Istanbul 81190, Turkey. E-mail: drckaya@hotmail.com

Received 11 July 2006; Revised 11 October 2006; Accepted 12 October 2006; Published online 14 December 2006.

Abstract

We investigated sexual function in female patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). A total of 20 consecutive female patients (38.23.8 years) with CAD diagnosed by coronary angiography and 15 healthy subjects (37.95.4 years) were enrolled in this study. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to assess sexual function in all the participants. Women with psychiatric disorders, gynecologic and systemic diseases that may affect sexual function were excluded from the study. The other exclusion criteria were usage of antidepressants and drugs affecting sexual function. Patients with CAD and healthy women were comparable in age, body mass index and education level. Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) was diagnosed in 12 of 20 women with CAD (60%), whereas five of 15 healthy women (33.3%) were found to have FSD (P<0.05). Patients with CAD had a significantly lower number of sexual intercourse episodes per month than healthy women volunteers (2.24 versus 5.2, respectively; P<0.05). The FSFI total score was clearly significantly decreased in the CAD group compared with that in healthy controls (17.82.9 and 26.04.8, P=0.001). When the subscores of each domain of FSFI were evaluated, all the subscores of FSFI, except the satisfaction domain, in patients with CAD were significantly lower than those of healthy subjects (P<0.05). This preliminary study demonstrates that female patients with CAD have distinct sexual dysfunction compared with healthy controls. Women with CAD should be evaluated also in terms of sexual function to provide better quality of life.