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Sauna bathing has been linked with lower rates of some cardiovascular outcomes, but the main long-term evidence is observational: it does not prove that sauna use prevents heart disease. A physician’s suggested routine—20 minutes, at least four times a week, at about 79–80°C—is a personal recommendation reported by Hindustan Times, not a schedule tested in a randomized trial. People with heart conditions should ask their clinician whether sauna use is appropriate for them.

What the heart-health evidence shows

A 2015 study of 2,315 men, ages 42–60, in Eastern Finland followed participants in the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Compared with men who reported sauna bathing once a week, those who reported four to seven sessions weekly had a lower observed risk of sudden cardiac death: adjusted hazard ratio 0.37 (95% confidence interval 0.18–0.75). The researchers also reported inverse associations with fatal coronary heart disease, fatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The study abstract says further studies are needed to establish a potential mechanism linking sauna bathing and cardiovascular health.

This was a prospective cohort study, not a randomized trial. Participants chose their sauna habits; the study therefore cannot show that sauna use caused the differences in outcomes. Its results also come from middle-aged Finnish men and should not be treated as proof that the same effects apply to women, other age groups, other populations or every sauna routine.

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How sauna might affect the cardiovascular system

A 2018 review of Finnish sauna research describes possible or observed changes in blood pressure, arterial stiffness, blood-vessel function, autonomic activity and lipid levels. These are proposed pathways that could help explain associations, not established proof that sauna prevents heart attacks or other clinical events. The review includes observational, experimental and intervention research and notes remaining uncertainty.

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What the physician recommends—and what that means

An October 2, 2026, Hindustan Times article attributes this routine to emergency physician Dr Vassily Eliopoulos:

  • 20 minutes per session
  • At least four sessions per week
  • About 79–80°C (roughly 175°F)

The article describes the underlying Finnish study as involving traditional dry saunas, but the cohort did not assign participants this schedule. Eliopoulos’s routine should therefore be understood as his recommendation, not a clinically proven prescription. Hindustan Times discloses that its report is based on user-generated social-media content that the publisher did not independently verify or endorse. The article also quotes Eliopoulos calling sauna “one of the most powerful passive longevity tools we have”; that is his attributed opinion, not a clinical consensus statement.

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Traditional and infrared saunas are not interchangeable evidence

Approach What the cited evidence describes How to interpret it
Traditional Finnish/dry sauna The 2015 cardiovascular cohort concerns Finnish sauna bathing; the Hindustan Times article describes its sauna exposure as traditional dry sauna. The cohort’s findings apply to the studied population and sauna habits, not automatically to every device or protocol.
Infrared sauna Mayo Clinic says infrared saunas heat the body directly and can produce sauna-like responses at lower temperatures. Mayo Clinic says larger, more precise studies are needed to establish clear health benefits. Finnish-sauna findings should not be transferred wholesale to infrared products.

Mayo Clinic’s overview of infrared saunas notes that some of the studies it discusses involved regular saunas, another reason not to assume the approaches have identical evidence.

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Who should get medical advice before using a sauna

If you have cardiovascular disease, symptoms, questions about your medicines or uncertainty about how you tolerate heat, ask your clinician for advice tailored to you before starting a sauna routine. Hindustan Times likewise advises people with a cardiac condition to check with their physician first.

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A small 2009 pilot involving nine people with chronic heart failure found that supervised moderate-temperature bathing was tolerated under the study conditions. Its authors said more research was needed to evaluate safety and potential benefits. That pilot is not blanket clearance for unsupervised sauna use or for everyone with heart disease. A chronic coronary disease guideline lists unstable angina, high-grade arrhythmias and decompensated heart failure as examples of high-risk conditions for exercise training; that passage is about exercise, not a sauna-specific contraindication list, so it should not be used as one.

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