Sauna Bathing to Improve Vascular Health of Adults With Heart Disease

N/ACompletedNCT03620539

Montreal Heart Institute61 enrolled

Overview

This study is a clinical trial that will determine if sauna bathing improves blood vessel health in adults aged 50-70 years with heart disease.

Mounting evidence suggests that heat therapy may improve cardiovascular health. Recent analyses of a large cohort of middle-aged to older Finnish men have established that frequent sauna bathing is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and of developing hypertension. Given the observational nature of these relationships, it remains unknown if the beneficial effects of sauna bathing can be directly attributed to heat exposure. The objective of this study is to test the primary hypothesis that 8 weeks of sauna bathing improves flow-mediated dilation, a measure of blood vessel health, in middle-aged to older adults (50-70 yrs) with stable coronary artery disease.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Coronary Artery Disease

Interventions

Lifestyle interventionOTHER

Sauna bathing

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 50 YearsMax age: 70 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 1. A history of angiographic coronary disease: ≥70% arterial diameter narrowing of at least one major epicardial coronary artery and/or prior coronary revascularization and/or documented prior acute coronary syndrome and/or perfusion defect during exercise testing or pharmacological stimulation 2. Stable medication doses (≥4 weeks) prior to enrolment 3. Body mass index \<35 kg/m2 Exclusion Criteria: 1. Recent (\<3 months) coronary artery disease-related hospitalization or change in angina pattern 2. Unstable angina 3. Ejection fraction \<40% and/or clinical evidence of heart failure 4. Significant valvular heart disease 5. Uncontrolled hypertension (\>180/110 mmHg)

Locations (1)

Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Centre of the Montreal Heart Institute

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Flow-mediated dilation

Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in response to 5 minutes of forearm occlusion

Time frame: Change from baseline after 8 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Post-occlusion reactive hyperaemia (AUC)

Vascular conductance area-under-the-curve during reactive hyperaemia induced by 5 minutes of forearm occlusion

Time frame: Change from baseline after 8 weeks

Post-occlusion reactive hyperaemia (Peak)

Peak vascular conductance during reactive hyperaemia induced by 5 minutes of forearm occlusion

Time frame: Change from baseline after 8 weeks

Local skin heating-induced vasodilation

Plateau of the cutaneous vascular conductance response during local heating of the skin to 39°C

Time frame: Change from baseline after 8 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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