Could Time in a Sauna Lower Your Stroke Risk?

The study, of more than 1,600 Finnish adults, found that those who hit the sauna at least four times a week were about 60 percent less likely to suffer a stroke over the next 15 years -- versus people who had only one weekly sauna session.

Finland is the birthplace of the traditional sauna -- which involves sitting in a room filled with dry heat at temperatures that top 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Sauna bathing is ingrained in the Finnish culture, and most people do it at least weekly, according to the researchers on the new study.

So it's not clear whether the results would extend to other types of heat therapy -- from steam rooms to hot tubs -- that are more common in other countries, said lead researcher Setor Kunutsor.

Past studies have found that frequent sauna users have lower rates of heart disease and dementia, compared to infrequent users. There's also evidence the sessions lower people's blood pressure, and make the blood vessels less stiff and more responsive to blood flow.

It's those effects, said Kunutsor, that might explain the lower stroke risk seen in this study.

The findings were published online May 2 in Neurology.
Read the article in its entirety on WebMD.Com here: https://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20180502/could-time-in-a-sauna-lower-your-stroke-risk#1