Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2004; 9: 05
The primary goal of this study was to assess the impact of sauna bathing on the quality of life and function of patients with heart failure (HF). A secondary goal was to study the physiological effects this regimen.
Six men and three women between the ages of 62 and 87 with New York Heart Association Functional Class III and IV heart failure were recruited to participate in a single-blind crossover trial. Subjects were randomised into two groups. The first group underwent 15-min 60 ± 1°C sauna bath treatments three times a week for 4 weeks, and the second continued their usual pattern of activities. Assignments were then reversed. Subjects were evaluated with the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ), treadmill testing and echocardiography at the beginning, middle and end of the study. Plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline, aldosterone, atrial naturectic factor, adrenomedulin, endothelin and cyclic GMP activities were obtained at the same intervals.
The MLWHFQ and treadmill endurance testing revealed improvements relative to baseline that were more marked following the sauna arm (43 and 10%, respectively) of the study than during the control (30 and 0.2%, respectively) phase. These differences were not statistically significant on a between-group basis. Echocardiography revealed significant between-group improvements in favour of the sauna intervention in terms of increases in left ventricular ejection fraction (25%) and Cardiac Index (16%). Sauna treatment resulted in systematic reductions in neurohormonal activity relative to baseline with these reductions significant on a between-group basis for noradrenaline.
Sauna bathing at 60°C may be safe and beneficial for people with HF. More research appears to be warranted.
This research was supported by funds provided by Mayo Clinic Rochester.
