title: Repeated sauna therapy improves myocardial perfusion in patients with chronically occluded coronary artery-related ischemia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Repeated low-temperature sauna (Waon) therapy relieves ischemic symptoms in patients with peripheral arterial disease. We investigated whether Waon therapy could improve myocardial perfusion in patients with ischemia related to chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary arteries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients who had ischemia in the CTO-related area were examined. The severity of ischemia was quantified by thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy with adenosine. The Waon group (n=16) was treated daily for three weeks with a 60 °C far infrared-ray dry sauna bath for 15 min and then kept in a bed covered with blankets for 30 min. The control group (n=8) underwent myocardial perfusion scintigraphy twice with a three-week interval.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the control group, neither summed stress score (SSS) nor summed difference score (SDS) of myocardial scintigraphy changed. However, Waon therapy improved both SSS (16 ± 7 to 9 ± 6, p<0.01) and SDS (7 ± 4 to 3 ± 2, p<0.01), and the improvement was greater in patients with higher SSS and SDS scores at the baseline. Waon therapy extended treadmill exercise time (430 ± 185 to 511 ± 192s, p<0.01) and improved flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery (4.1 ± 1.3 to 5.9 ± 1.8%, p<0.05), but tended to decrease the number of circulating CD34-positive bone marrow-derived cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Waon therapy improves CTO-related myocardial ischemia in association with improvement of vascular endothelial function. This therapy could be a complementary and alternative tool in patients with severe coronary lesions not suitable for coronary intervention.
authors.affiliation: The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sobajima
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nozawa
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ihori
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shida
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohori
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsuki
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yasumura
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D055414:Myocardial Perfusion Imaging / Q000379:methods; D029002:Steam Bath / Q000379:methods*; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology