I was sitting in a steam room and noticed my smart watch indicate a sharp rise in my heart rate to coincide with time spent in the steam room. What causes this rise in heart rate, is it the heat and dilation of the vascular system?
In: 7
Paramedic here. When your core temp increases, your vessels expand so they can be closer to the surface of your skin. This allows your blood to be closer to the outside, where heat can radiate away easier against the lower ambient temperature.
When your veins expand like this, your heart must now beat faster to overcome the now larger container, because it is now pumping less blood per beat, and must keep the total amount pumped the same to make sure every organ is getting enough.
I’d also like to add that this may accelerate in a humid environment like a sauna, because the high humidity makes it very difficult for sweating to be effective. Most organs but especially your brain and nervous system are very sensitive to high temperatures and must aggressively react to prevent damage.
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