Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 1 , Pages 173-177 , January 2009

Safety, Acceptance, and Physiologic Effects of Sauna Bathing in People With Chronic Heart Failure: A Pilot Report

  • Jeffrey R. Basford, MD, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorrespondence to Jeffrey R. Basford, MD, PhD, 200 Second Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905
    • ,
  • Jae K. Oh, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • Thomas G. Allison, PhD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • Charles G. Sheffield, PT

      Affiliations

    • Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • Barbara G. Manahan, RDCS

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • David O. Hodge, MSci

      Affiliations

    • Division of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • A. Jamil Tajik, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • Richard J. Rodeheffer, MD

      Affiliations

    • Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN
    • ,
  • Chuwa Tei, MD

      Affiliations

    • First Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima, Japan

References 

  1. Hall MJ, DeFrances CJ. National Hospital Discharge Survey: Advanced Data from Vital and Health Statistics. Hyattsville: National Center for Health Statistics; 2003;No. 332
  2. Goldsmith SR. Congestive heart failure: potential role of arginine vasopressin antagonists in the therapy of heart failure. Congest Heart Fail. 2002;8:251–256
  3. Klein L, O'Connor CM, Gattis WA, et al. Pharmacologic therapy for patients with chronic heart failure and reduced systolic function: review of trials and practical considerations. Am J Cardiol. 2003;91:18F–40F
  4. Larsen A, Dickstein K. Can sedentary patients with heart failure achieve the beneficial effect of exercise training without moving?. Eur Heart J. 2004;25:104–106
  5. Luurila OJ. Cardiac arrhythmias, sudden death and the Finnish sauna bath. Adv Cardiol. 1978;25:73–81
  6. Tei C, Horikiri Y, Park JC, et al. Acute hemodynamic improvement by thermal vasodilation in congestive heart failure. Circulation. 1995;91:2582–2590
  7. Kihara T, Biro S, Ikeda Y, et al. Effects of repeated sauna treatment on ventricular arrhythmias in patients with chronic heart failure. Circ J. 2004;68:1146–1151
  8. Kihara T, Biro S, Imamura M, et al. Repeated sauna treatment improves vascular endothelial and cardiac function in patients with chronic heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;39:754–759
  9. Kisanuki A, Daitoku S, Kihara T, Otsuji Y, Tei C. Thermal therapy improves left ventricular diastolic function in patients with congestive heart failure: a tissue doppler echocardiographic study. J Cardiol. 2007;49:187–191
  10. Rector TS, Kubo SH, Cohn JN. Validity of the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure questionnaire as a measure of therapeutic response to enalapril or placebo. Am J Cardiol. 1993;71:1106–1107
  11. Naughton J, Haider R. Exercise testing and exercise training in coronary heart disease. In:  Naughton J,  Hallerstein HK editor. Methods of exercise testing. New York: Academic Press; 1973;p. 79–91
  12. Costa VM, Silva R, Ferreira LM, et al. Oxidation process of adrenaline in freshly isolated rat cardiomyocytes: formation of adrenochrome, quinoproteins, and GSH adduct. Chem Res Toxicol. 2007;20:1183–1191
  13. Pepper G, Lee RW. Sympathetic activation in heart failure and its treatment with beta-blockade. Arch Intern Med. 1999;159:225–234
  14. Floras JS. Sympathetic activation in human heart failure: diverse mechanisms, therapeutic opportunities. Acta Physiol Scand. 2003;177:391–398
  15. Wieczorek SJ, Wu AH, Christenson R, et al. A rapid B-type natriuretic peptide assay accurately diagnoses left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure: a multicenter evaluation. Am Heart J. 2002;144:834–839
  16. Hinson JP, Kapas S, Smith DM. Adrenomedullin, a multifunctional regulatory peptide. Endocr Rev. 2000;21:138–167
  17. Gheorghiade M, Gattis WA, O'Connor CW, et al. Effects of tolvaptan, a vasopressin antagonist, in patients hospitalized with worsening heart failure: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2004;291:1963–1971
  18. Allison TG, Miller TD, Squires RW, Gau GT. Cardiovascular responses to immersion in a hot tub in comparison with exercise in male subjects with coronary artery disease. Mayo Clin Proc. 1993;68:19–25
  19. Kirsch KA, Röcker DL, von Ameln H, Hrynyschyn K. The cardiac filling pressure following exercise and thermal stress. Yale J Biol Med. 1986;59:257–265
  20. Rector TS, Cohn JN. Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire. http://www.mlhfq.org/default.htmAccessed November 20, 2008

 Supported by the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (grant no. 300-95).

 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.

 Reprints are not available from the author.

PII: S0003-9993(08)01539-6

doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2008.06.029

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume 90, Issue 1 , Pages 173-177 , January 2009

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