Are Saunas Good for High Blood Pressure? (Expert Answer)

Short Answer: Saunas are good for high blood pressure because they can lower your blood pressure by dilating your blood vessels. However, they should be used safely and moderately by people with stable heart disease or low blood pressure.

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a condition that affects your heart and blood vessels.

In high blood pressure, your body excessively pushes blood through your arteries, which can damage your heart and other organs.

This can lead to various health problems, such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and vision loss.

One of the key factors in managing high blood pressure is lifestyle habits.

What you consume can affect your blood pressure, which can impact your high blood pressure symptoms and overall health.

To effectively manage high blood pressure, you should consume potassium-rich foods like bananas, potatoes, and spinach and avoid sodium-rich foods like processed meats, canned soups, and cheese.

Now, saunas are hot environments that cause your blood vessels to dilate, which lowers your blood pressure.

People usually use saunas for relaxation and stress relief.

Saunas are generally considered safe for people with stable heart disease and even mild heart failure.

But people with unstable chest pain (angina), poorly controlled high blood pressure, or other serious heart issues should avoid them.

Because high temperatures can lower blood pressure, older people with low blood pressure should be extra careful in hot baths and saunas.

You can use saunas briefly and moderately, about 10 to 15 minutes per session.

This is especially important if you have heart disease.

Also avoid extremely hot temperatures.

Also, you shouldn’t use saunas if you are experiencing extremely high blood pressure (higher than 180 for the top number or 110 for the lower number).

This is considered a hypertensive crisis and you should seek immediate medical help.

Furthermore, saunas are a type of therapeutic heat therapy and therapeutic heat therapy is good for high blood pressure because it can improve blood vessel function, reduce inflammation, and lower cholesterol levels.

You can use saunas safely if you have stable heart disease and follow the precautions mentioned above.

More than that can cause dehydration or overheating.

Get a Customized Diet Plan

About the Author

Abdur Rahman Choudhury

Abdur Rahman Choudhury is a nutritionist in West Bengal, India, with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Biochemistry.

He has done his diploma in nutrition from Fabulous Body Inc (US), and completed various certification courses from several universities. He also has considerable research experience in PCOS.

Abdur currently lives in India and keeps fit by weight training and eating mainly home-cooked meals.

Leave a Comment