Low dietary sodium in heart failure: a need for scientific rigour

There is much evidence that higher sodium intake is associated with elevated blood pressure and there is a strong likelihood that the relationship between excess dietary sodium intake and hypertension is causal.1–3 Corresponding evidence from clinical trials shows that significant reductions in blood pressure can be achieved by lowering dietary sodium consumption in groups with hypertension as well as among normotensive individuals.4 With high blood pressure identified as the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the world, responsible for more than 60% of stroke events and almost 50% of coronary heart disease,5 efforts to control blood pressure levels have been a global priority for decades. In addition to very well established clinical hypertension control programmes, many of the world's leading scientific and health organisations recommend the widespread reduction of sodium intake for blood pressure lowering. In the USA, the...
Source: Heart - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Electronic page Source Type: research