Cardiovascular Health Improved With Heat
It's not just any heat that will do your heart and blood vessels good, it's infrared radiation administered in a sauna. According to an article published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2001, repeated sauna treatment benefits patients with coronary risk factors.
Researchers tried to determine whether sauna therapy can improve endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors. Those patients targeted in the study had conditions such as :
- high cholesterol (or hypercholesterolemia)
- high blood pressure (or hypertension)
- diabetes mellitus, and
- those who smoke.
How is cardiovascular health influenced by far infrared radiation?
Infrared sauna therapy is a thermal vasodilation therapy. That means, it stimulates the blood vessels to dilate or expand. This increased blood flow and supply throughout the body.
Researchers have found that repeated sauna therapy improves endothelial and cardiac function in patients with chronic heart failure. Endothelial membrane is a thin layer of flat epithelial cells that lines the blood vessels.
The research
In this particular research, twenty-five men with at least one coronary risk factor and 10 healthy men without coronary risk factors were chosen as subjects in this study.
The patients with risk factors were treated with a 140 °F far infrared-ray dry sauna bath for 15 minutes and then kept in a bed covered with blankets for 30 minutes. This was done once per day for two weeks.
Sauna holds hot news for cardiovascular health
The researchers measured brachial artery diameter in order to assess endothelial function, and observed beneficial results. Their conclusion was that, "repeated sauna treatment improves impaired vascular endothelial function in the setting of coronary risk factors, suggesting a therapeutic role for sauna treatment in patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis."
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References
Imamura M., Biro S., Kihara T., Yoshifuku S., Takasaki K., Otsuji Y., Minagoe S., Toyama Y., Tei C. (2001). Repeated thermal therapy improves impaired vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2001 Oct;38(4):1083-8.