Is sauna bathing protective of sudden cardiac death? A review of the evidence

Laukkanen, Jari A.; Kunutsor, Setor K

doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2019.05.001

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Sauna bathing used sensibly and with caution is generally considered to be safe for most healthy people and even among patients with stable cardiovascular disease. 2 However, a previous study revealed that sudden death in the bathroom was associated with the winter season (56.2%) and hypertension (37.3%). 5 Because almost all cardiac arrests in this previous study occurred in the bathroom at home (84.9%), it is difficult to compare their result with ours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The reason for this difference between both studies may be due to the fact that people's usage tendencies vary depending on the type of baths. 2,6 All PBs in South Korea have long ago posted warnings that patients with cardiovascular disease such as hypertension should not enter the sauna and warm bathtub. Most people using PBs are aware of this caution and it might have contributed to some selection bias.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics and outcomes of public bath-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in South Korea

et al. 2020

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Objective To analyze the differences in characteristics and outcomes between public bath (PB)related and non-PB-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in South Korea. Methods We performed a retrospective observational analysis of collected data from the Smart Advanced Cardiac Life Support (SALS) registry between September 2015 and December 2018. We included adult OHCA patients (aged > 18 years) with presumed OHCA of non-traumatic etiology who were attended by dispatched emergency medical services. SALS is a field advanced life support with smartphone-based direct medical direction. The primary outcome was the survival to discharge rate measured at the time of discharge. Results Of 38,995 cardiac arrest patients enrolled in the SALS registry, 11,889 were included in the final analysis. In total, 263 OHCAs occurred in PBs. Male sex and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation proportions appeared to be higher among PB patients than among non-PB patients. Percentages for shockable rhythm, witnessed rate, and number of underlying disease were lower in the PB group than in the non-PB group. Prehospital return of spontaneous circulation (11.4% vs. 19.5%, P = 0.001), survival to discharge (2.3% vs. 9.9%, P < 0.001), and favorable neurologic outcome (1.9% vs. 5.8%, P = 0.007) in PB patients were significantly poorer than those in non-PB patients. Conclusion Patient characteristics and emergency medical services factors differed between PB and non-PB patients. All outcomes of PB-related OHCA were poorer than those of non-PB-related OHCA. Further treatment strategies should be developed to improve the outcomes of PBrelated cardiac arrest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and outcomes of public bath-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in South Korea

et al. 2020

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“…Historical and emerging evidence suggests regular sauna bathing enhances cardiovascular, respiratory and immune function as well as improving mood and quality of life ( Hussain & Cohen, 2018 )( Laukkanen et al, 2018 ). Finnish sauna bathing, which involves brief exposures to high environmental temperature (80°C-100°C) has been shown to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality, sudden cardiac death, cardiovascular disease and vascular diseases such as high blood pressure and stroke, along with the risk of neurocognitive diseases, skin conditions and painful conditions such as rheumatic diseases and headache ( Laukkanen et al, 2015 ; Laukkanen et al, 2018 ; Laukkanen & Kunutsor, 2019 ). Epidemiological evidence further suggests that frequent sauna bathing is associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia and viral infection ( Kunutsor et al, 2017a ) ( Kunutsor et al, 2017a ; Kunutsor et al, 2017b ), and randomised controlled trial evidence suggests that regular saunas can halve the incidence of respiratory viral infections ( Ernst et al, 1990 ).…”

Section: Heat As Medicinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to enhancing cellular responses, heat-stress induces a hormetic stress response that builds physiological resilience and confers tolerance to subsequent stress in a similar way to exercise ( Gálvez et al, 2018 ). Heat stress improves respiratory function by reducing pulmonary congestion and increasing tidal volume, vital capacity, ventilation, and forced expiratory volume of the lungs ( Laitinen et al, 1988 ), and improves cardiovascular function by modulating the autonomic nervous system, reducing inflammation, oxidative stress and blood pressure, increasing cardiac output, plasma volume and peripheral blood flow, and improving endothelial function, lipid profile and arterial compliance ( Heinonen & Laukkanen 2018 ; Kunutsor et al, 2018 ; Laukkanen et al, 2018 ; Laukkanen & Kunutsor, 2019 ).…”

Section: Mechanisms Of Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention

Cohen

2020

F1000Res

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Enveloped viruses such as SAR-CoV-2 are sensitive to heat and are destroyed by temperatures tolerable to humans. All mammals use fever to deal with infections and heat has been used throughout human history in the form of hot springs, saunas, hammams, steam-rooms, sweat-lodges, steam inhalations, hot mud and poultices to prevent and treat respiratory infections and enhance health and wellbeing. This paper reviews the evidence for using heat to treat and prevent viral infections and discusses potential cellular, physiological and psychological mechanisms of action. In the initial phase of infection, heat applied to the upper airways can support the immune system’s first line of defence by supporting muco-ciliary clearance and inhibiting or deactivating virions where they first lodge. This may be further enhanced by the inhalation of steam containing essential oils with anti-viral, mucolytic and anxiolytic properties. Heat applied to the whole body can further support the immune system’s second line of defence by mimicking fever and activating innate and acquired immune defences and building physiological resilience. Heat-based treatments also offer psychological benefits and enhanced mental wellness by focusing attention on positive action, enhancing relaxation and sleep, inducing 'forced-mindfulness', and invoking the power of positive thinking and ‘remembered wellness’. Heat is a cheap, convenient and widely accessible therapeutic modality and while no clinical protocols exist for using heat to treat COVID-19, protocols that draw from traditional practices and consider contraindications, adverse effects and infection control measures could be developed and implemented rapidly and inexpensively on a wide scale. While there are significant challenges in implementing heat-based therapies during the current pandemic, these therapies present an opportunity to integrate natural medicine, conventional medicine and traditional wellness practices, and support the wellbeing of both patients and medical staff, while building community resilience and reducing the likelihood and impact of future pandemics.

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“…Sauna is a physical treatment, originating from Scandinavian countries such as Finland, and now widely used throughout the world [1][2][3]. Sauna treatments are used very often in sports medicine in rehabilitation and recreation or biological regeneration due to its positive effect on the body of athletes [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. It has been shown that sauna treatments positively influence the hemodynamics of blood pressure and pulse [1,2,10], stimulate athletes' immune system [4], help to maintain adaptive changes to physical effort [6,7], favorably modulate heart rate variability [8], support circulation [9,11], improve sleep [9], improve mental health [9,11], increase "body detoxification" [9], relieve back and musculoskeletal pain [9], probably reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death [11], improve lipid profile [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modification of blood serum DSC profiles by sauna treatments in cross-country skiers during the exercise cycle

Duch

Michnik

Pokora

et al. 2020

J Therm Anal Calorim

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The study has evaluated the effect of sauna treatments on the blood serum of professional crosscountry skiers (3 women and 6 men) during two exercise sessions: the first without any treatments and the second after ten sauna treatments. Aqueous solutions of serum samples from the blood of athletes collected in four stages in both exercise sessions: at rest, after exercise, after 1 h and 24 h rest and additionally only at rest after the first sauna treatment, were measured by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). DSC results allowed to register characteristic post-exercise changes in the profile of thermal denaturation transition of serum. A trend of these changes was similar regardless of the use of sauna, but their intensity was stronger in the exercise session after the sauna treatments. In particular, the differences relating to the use of sauna have revealed in the higher temperature range of serum denaturation transition. Regarding the recovery process after exercises, a large individual variability was observed in both sessions.

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Is sauna bathing protective of sudden cardiac death? A review of the evidence

Abstract: This is a self-archived version of an original article. This version may differ from the original in pagination and typographic details.

Cited by 25 publications

References 71 publications

Characteristics and outcomes of public bath-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in South Korea

Characteristics and outcomes of public bath-related out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in South Korea

Turning up the heat on COVID-19: heat as a therapeutic intervention

Modification of blood serum DSC profiles by sauna treatments in cross-country skiers during the exercise cycle

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