Why Saunas Are Great For Your Heart: A Cardiologist Explains
Can one of the hottest treatments to heal the heart be heat itself? Over the last two decades, I've treated patients with advanced heart disease, and I've seen many innovations in medications, surgeries, and devices. But there is still an enormous toll on quality and quantity of life.
Heart disease is a great model to test other approaches to healing as even studies with small groups of patients may show benefits of therapy quickly.
One of the treatments which has been a relative secret but needs to be outed now is sauna therapy for heart health. And not just any type of sauna heat. Doctors in Japan have been working for over 20 years testing the benefits of infrared dry sauna therapy in some of the sickest heart and vascular patients, and they've published nearly 20 research articles showing this is a major breakthrough.
They've used a technique called waon therapy, from the Japanese words wa for soothing and on for warmth, or so called soothing warmth therapy. The way it works: patients sit in an infrared sauna set at 60° C (140° F) for 15 minutes, followed by resting outside the sauna for 30 minutes, wrapped in towels. People are encouraged to drink water to compensate for the perspiration.
And what can waon therapy do in heart patients that might apply to your general health?
Waon therapy improves the health of arteries.
No comments:
Post a Comment