This study, led by Takashi Kihara and colleagues, explored the long-term effects of Waon therapy—a form of heat therapy using a far-infrared sauna—on patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The research included 129 CHF patients in advanced stages of the condition (NYHA functional class III or IV). In the treatment group, 64 patients underwent daily sauna sessions at 60°C for 15 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of bed rest. After discharge, patients continued the therapy twice a week. The control group of 65 patients received traditional CHF treatments without the sauna therapy. The study tracked patients for five years to assess survival rates and the occurrence of cardiac events.
The results showed that Waon therapy significantly improved patient outcomes. The survival rate for patients in the Waon therapy group was 84.5%, compared to 81.5% in the control group, with fewer cardiac events and deaths occurring in the treatment group. Specifically, cardiac events (such as heart failure symptoms worsening or cardiac death) were reduced by more than half in the Waon therapy group, with only 31.3% of patients experiencing these events, compared to 68.7% in the control group. The study concluded that Waon therapy, which works by improving blood flow and reducing heart strain through thermal exposure, could be a promising non-drug treatment for improving the prognosis of CHF patients. This research highlights how heat therapy (hyperthermia) can provide substantial benefits in managing heart failure.
