Saunas And SW Pittsburgh Senior Heart Health

February Is Heart Disease Prevention Month

Saunas And Senior Heart Health

Saunas can help Pittsburgh seniors have healthier hearts and longer life
Visiting a fitness center with a pool may come with an added bonus for your heart: a chance to use a sauna. The hot, dry air inside a wood-lined room of a sauna can provide a relaxing rest. But it may also offer some cardiovascular conditioning because the high temperature boosts your heart rate. Taking a sauna may also lower blood pressure, and some research suggests that regular sauna use may benefit people with risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol and diabetes.

Last year, a study from Finland, where saunas are deeply embedded in the culture, found that middle-aged men who took more frequent saunas (four to seven times per week) live longer than once-per-week users. In particular, more time spent in the sauna was linked to a lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease.
 
On average, the men in the study spent 14 minutes per visit basking in the 175° F heat. As an editorial accompanying the study points out, it's not clear whether the benefits arise from the dry heat, the relaxation time, the leisure of a life that allows for more relaxation time, or the camaraderie of the sauna.
 
Saunas seem to be safe for people with stable heart disease and even mild heart failure. But people with unstable chest pain (angina), poorly controlled high blood pressure, low blood pressure, or other serious heart issues should avoid saunas.
 
Tips for safe sauna use           

• Don't stay in longer than 15 to 20 minutes.               
• Cool down gradually afterward; don't go straight outdoors in cold weather.           
• Drink two to four glasses of water afterward to replenish fluid lost from sweating.       
• Avoid alcohol before and after your sauna.

Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/exercise-and-fitness/exercising-in-water-big-heart-benefits-and-little-downside
 
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