Sauna users urged to hydrate after woman suffers heart attack and multi-organ failure

Sauna users have been urged to stay hydrated after a woman in her 70s had a heart attack after suffering from severe heat stroke.

Experts from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital described how the patient was in hospital for 12 days after she was found unconscious at an indoor sauna in her local gym.

The unnamed woman, who used the gym daily, suffered a heart attack, seizures, liver injury and kidney injury, among other conditions.

Only around 10 cases of heat stroke linked to saunas have been documented, which included three deaths.

Before getting in the sauna, the woman had been doing stretching exercises for around 45 minutes, doctors wrote in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Paramedics found her with an extremely high core body temperature of 42C, very low blood pressure and a fast heart rate.

The woman, who had a history of type 1 diabetes and thyroid problems, was taken to the emergency department at Heartlands.

She was unresponsive and making groaning noises, and had a seizure in the emergency department.

The woman regained consciousness two hours after returning to normal body temperature, but she was confused and drowsy for two days.

Medics saw the woman in hospital 26 days after the heat stroke and found she had “returned to her baseline health status” but was still suffering from fatigue.

The patient told the journal: “My experience has emphasised the dangers of saunas and how important it is to be fully hydrated on entering a sauna and for them to be regularly checked by staff.

“As a regular sauna user, I never suffered any issues and, on reflection, I believe I had not drunk enough water.

“I am pleased to say I’m feeling well and appear to have made a full recovery.

“As a side note, considering what I have been through, I know that I am very lucky and cannot thank the medical staff enough.”