Living with Atrial Fibrillation

[PastaPesto]

Hi

I have always found the occasional sauna and steam rooms to be a great way of relaxing. Having been recently diagnosed with AFib are these now a 'no go'? What have others with AFib found?

[Blearyeyed]

Are you on the Atrial Fibrillation Support forum on HU.If not , it would be worth joining for you because it's members all have aFib of different types , some with other health issues too , so you might get a bigger response and varied answers depending on peoples aFib types and needs.

To be honest , my view is that aFib can be triggered by saunas and steam rooms because of many reasons including quick changes in temperatures, salt and water loss.

If you do choose to try a steam, jacuzzi or sauna make sure you have drank enough water and gave a snack beforehand to keep your salts balanced before and after. Drink water during your session.

Reduce the time you use them , start at a couple of minutes.

Have a warm shower or rinse rather than a cold one and gave something like a robe to put on so that your temperature doesn't change too quickly and cause a spike or big dip in BP or heart rate.

Don't jump into cold pools or go outdoors straight after one, wait on a seat with your robe on for 5-10 minutes for your temperature to adjust.

Don't have them if you feel unwell or in the weeks after an infection as your body is still trying to cope with symptoms and can be more sensitive.

Very hot options , or ones that use inhalants aren't advisable as they are more than likely to cause symptoms during use or in the hours afterwards.

Take things sensibly , in small amounts and gently following these rules just as it would be recommended if you chose to try a gentle massage.

If you suffer with uncontrolled or very high or very low blood pressure or rapid swings in heart rate from changing position it's better not to use them.

I do have the occasional short steam to help with chronic pain but only when my symptoms are well controlled. I find I can't cope with a sauna anymore.

Leisure Centres and Spas should check on people's health requirements before letting people use them and give guidelines , some may refuse use. If they don't follow these guidelines it's better not to use steam rooms or saunas in those facilities because if they aren't aware of the importance of supervision for people with heart conditions they won't be trained adequately enough to deal with a medical problem if it occurs either. So it is important to look at the terms of use and rules at a centre before you use it.

[PastaPesto in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thanks for your helpful reply

[Jonathan_C]

Everyone's experience of a-fib is unique.

I would say give it a try - start with short visits - like max 5 minutes and then see how you feel for the next 24 hours.

I often do stuff that feels ok when I am doing it - like lifting weights - but then $#%ks me up for the rest of day - and that is why i recommend a short visit and then give yourself enough time to observe the effects and recover.

[CDreamer]

I’m OK with short term 5-10 mins in the steam room but cannot tolerate most saunas. I recently went to a spa which had two saunas at different temperatures, virtually no-one could tolerate the hot one and I poked my nose in the ‘cooler’ one and decided after 2 mins that was raising my HR so straight out. Funny that I’m ok with wet heat but not dry 🤷

PS - Blearyeyed makes some good points about dehydration & electrolyte loss so be doubly careful there. Cold showers are fine, I used to jump into ice water - I tend to avoid the extremes these days so do beware of very cold plunge pools but I’m ok with ice bucket on body, I believe because head/face is not affected by diver’s response.

[PastaPesto in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks. I have decided to postpone my sauna visit until I can discuss it with my consultant in Nov.