Yvette BrownIt can be relaxing to soak in the bathtub or relax in the sauna. Both practices, when practiced regularly, may also aid in lowering the risk of heart attacks and strokes, suggest several studies. After a hot bath, you might feel your heart race. He explains that this is due to the pressure of the water on the body, which increases the workload on the heart.
It is crucial to understand how a hot bath affects your heart condition. Please read this article and try to understand why hot baths can lower a person’s risk for heart disease and stroke.
Why Do Hot Baths Lower The Risk Of Heart Disease And Stroke?
In addition to raising heart rate and improving something called hemodynamic function, which is simply how well the heart pumps blood to all the body’s organs, researchers think that the heat of the water lowers blood pressure.
According to Dr., many people who engage in aerobic exercise experience the same outcomes. The head of the cardiovascular surgery department at The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, is S. Russell Vester, FACS, FACC, FAHA.
“Is it (bringing) the same outcome as some aerobic exercise, is the real query.” Healthline was informed by Vester.
“Imagine that you exercise for 30 minutes five days a week, as you should, preferably by walking. If bathing 5 days a week brings your heart rate up and your blood pressure down, that’s a similar result,” he said.
Ways Hot Tubs Affect Your Blood Pressure
Gravity Is Less Of A Factor
In order to recirculate blood from your extremities so that your heart’s output can be decreased, your heart no longer needs to pump blood against gravity. When you’re horizontal as opposed to vertical, blood returns to the heart much more easily. Comparing letting gravy flow horizontally in a tube to trying to pour it up is analogous. Less pumping is required.
Less Resistance Because Of Vasodilation
Your blood vessels expand in the presence of heat. Your heart has less resistance to pump against as your blood vessel radius increases. Less pressure will be placed on the circulatory system as a result. Consider the difference between letting the garden hose seep out naturally and putting your thumb over the end to increase pressure.
Less Fluid Volume Due To Dehydration
Despite being submerged in a large bucket of water, you are still losing water through perspiration into the container. Your heart can rest when your body contains less fluid. Imagine attempting to crawl under a water-filled air mattress as opposed to one that contains only half as much water.
Salt loss: Since sodium helps the body retain water, the more salt you lose through perspiration, the less sodium your body will be able to hold onto.
Mental Relaxation
Because your body is no longer in flight or fight mode and no longer needs to pump as much blood as possible to your muscles to get you ready for action, when you are relaxed, your blood pressure decreases.
Physical Relaxation
Your muscles will loosen and warm up from the hot water, which will further lessen the need for your heart to warm them up and supply them with nutrients. Decreased resistance is another result of this; if your muscles aren’t as tight, it won’t take as much effort for blood to pass through your veins and arteries.
Temperature Regulation
Your heart works hard to keep you warm, but since the hot water is already doing this for you, your heart doesn’t have to exert as much energy.
Dizziness, fainting, weakness, lightheadedness, decreased ability to concentrate, blurred vision, and fatigue are all symptoms of having too low blood pressure, which is primarily caused by a lack of blood flow to the brain, which is why hot tubs can have these effects. Your reactions to these facts will become stronger the longer you spend in the hot tub.
What Will Happen When You Get Out Of The Hot Tub?
Vasoconstriction
Your blood vessels and pores will close once the air that is cooler than the water you were just in hits your skin. This constriction will increase the pressure in the cardiovascular system. Think about putting your thumb over the garden hose nozzle.
Orthostatic Hypotension
Your blood pressure will momentarily drop because you have lost a significant amount of fluid and it hasn’t been pumping back to your heart with enough force. After leaving the hot tub, this can result in low blood pressure symptoms.
If you have the low blood pressure to start with, once you stand up it’s going to be difficult for your body to return to its regular blood pressure due to having to antagonize all of the factors hot tubs pose on you, particularly gravity.
Rebound Hypertension
Your body is programmed to maintain homeostasis so your blood pressure will rise again once you’re on your feet. If you have high blood pressure in general this extreme fluctuation may exacerbate your high blood pressure and cause hypertensive symptoms which you may only experience when stressed or at random times when your blood pressure peaks.
The effects of your blood pressure increasing after getting out of the hot tub are pulsating pounding especially in the back of your head, fatigue, confusion, shortness of breath, anxiety, nose bleed, pounding chest, chest pain, or irregular heartbeat. You may be interested in How Many Times Does Your Heart Beat Per Day?
Stay On The Safe Side When In A Hot Bath
People with stable heart disease and even mild heart failure appear to be safe to use hot baths (or hot tubs) and saunas. However, those who experience unstable chest pain (angina), poorly managed high blood pressure, or other severe heart conditions ought to stay away from them.
“People who are in their 70s and older whose blood pressure is on the low side also should be extra careful,” says Dr. Hutter says that if the water in a bath or hot tub is too hot, your blood pressure may drop too low and you may experience lightheadedness or dizziness as a result.
He uses the term “low” to refer to a systolic pressure of 110 mm Hg or less (the first number in a reading). “Water should be between 100 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Get in slowly, so your body can accommodate gradually,” he advises.
Around 175 degrees Fahrenheit is the typical temperature in a Finnish sauna. If you have low blood pressure, stay in for no more than 15 to 20 minutes at the most. Sit down outside the sauna if you begin to feel dizzy or excessively hot. Additionally, it’s a good idea to cool off gradually rather than stepping outside immediately in cold weather. Drink plenty of water afterward to replace any fluids lost due to perspiration.
