.png){kind=icon}
.png){kind=icon}
Return
Home-based heat therapy lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial function in older adults
.png){kind=icon}
PRE
AI
Y
H
R
A
T
A
S
DOI：10.1152/japplphysiol.00977.2024.png)
.png){kind=icon}
Original request for help.png){kind=icon}
Share.png){kind=icon}
Save
Abstract
En 中文
Advancing age is associated with vascular dysfunction and hypertension, both of which increase cardiovascular event risk. Heat therapy has emerged as a novel intervention to improve cardiovascular health in various populations. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that home-based lower body heat therapy would reduce blood pressure and improve endothelium-dependent vasodilation in older adults. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring was performed in 19 older adults (67 +/- 7 yr) before and after 8 wk of a sham intervention or heat therapy. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation of the superficial femoral artery was assessed via flow-mediated dilation. Participants were provided with a pair of tube-lined pants connected to a portable water circulator to perform the home-based sessions. Water temperature was set to 31 degrees C for sham and 51 degrees C for heat therapy, resulting in target skin temperatures of similar to 33 degrees C and similar to 40 degrees C, respectively. Participants were instructed to wear the pants 4 days/wk for 60 min each session. Adherence was 100% for both groups. Heat therapy reduced ambulatory daytime systolic blood pressure by Delta -5 +/- 8 mmHg, but was unchanged for the sham group (Delta 1 +/- 6 mmHg; P = 0.04). Likewise, heat therapy increased flow-mediated dilation (P = 0.02), whereas there was no change across time for the sham group (P = 0.5). These results combined with a strong adherence rate suggest that home-based lower body heat therapy could be an alternative nonpharmacological intervention to reduce blood pressure and improve vascular function, ultimately reducing long-term cardiovascular event risk in older adults. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Advancing age is associated with vascular dysfunction and hypertension, both of which increase cardiovascular event risk. This study determined that 8 wk of home-based lower body heat therapy reduced ambulatory daytime systolic blood pressure and increased flow-mediated dilation of the superficial femoral artery, outcomes not observed in the sham group. These improvements, coupled with 100% adherence among participants, suggest that home-based heat therapy is a pragmatic and effective strategy for improving cardiovascular health in older adults.
Keywords:
aging
blood pressure
heat therapy
vascular function
Journal
IF:
3.3
Papers:
1.5W
Citations:
4.0W
Organization
Cited Papers