Evaluation of sexual function and quality of sexual life in women with myocardial infarction

This study was conducted between January and August 15, 2024, with women who applied to the Cardiology Clinic of Osmaniye State Hospital, to evaluate the sexual functions and quality of sexual life of women who had Myocardial Infarction (MI). The sample of the study consisted of 205 women who were selected by a simple random sampling method and met the inclusion criteria. The study included women who volunteered to participate in the study, knew and spoke Turkish, were open to communication, had an active sexual partner, and were at least two months post-MI. Those who had visual, hearing, or other physical disabilities, were diagnosed with a psychiatric disease, or were receiving psychiatric medication were excluded from the study. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form", "Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)", and "Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female (SQLQ-F)". The data obtained were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0 program; statistical significance was accepted as p<0.05. The mean FSFI and SQLQ-F scores of the women were 19.15 ± 6.79 and 49.17 ± 17.02, respectively. In the study, a statistically significant difference was found between the total mean FSFI and SQLQ-F scores with the variables of age, education status, spouse's education status, spouse's occupation, number of living children, presence of chronic disease, medication use, and history of sexual problems in the woman or spouse before MI (p<0.05). Age, spouse education level, spouse occupation, drug use, and FSFI variables explain 47.6% of the total variance for the SQLQ-F scale. In addition, a powerful positive significant relationship was found between the total score of FSFI and SQLQ-F (r=0.714; p=0.000). As a result, it was determined that the majority of women who had MI experienced sexual dysfunction, their sexual life quality was affected negatively to a limited extent, and as women improved their sexual functions, their sexual life quality was also affected positively. Key Words: Myocardial Infarction, Sexual Function, Sexual Quality of Life, Women