Coronary Artery Disease
Conditions
Keywords
flow-mediated dilation, sauna, vascular, heat
Brief summary
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.
Detailed description
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.
Interventions
OTHERLifestyle intervention
Sauna bathing
Sponsors
Montreal Heart Institute
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
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)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Flow-mediated dilation | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation in response to 5 minutes of forearm occlusion |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Post-occlusion reactive hyperaemia (AUC) | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Vascular conductance area-under-the-curve during reactive hyperaemia induced by 5 minutes of forearm occlusion |
| Post-occlusion reactive hyperaemia (Peak) | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Peak vascular conductance during reactive hyperaemia induced by 5 minutes of forearm occlusion |
| Local skin heating-induced vasodilation | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Plateau of the cutaneous vascular conductance response during local heating of the skin to 39°C |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Heart rate variability | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Resting levels of heart rate variability |
| Blood pressure | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Systolic blood pressure at rest |
| Central arterial stiffness | Change from baseline after 8 weeks | Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed