High Blood Pressure and Reduced Salt Intake

"The current public health recommendations are to reduce salt intake from 9 to 12 grams a day to 5 to 6 grams a day. However, these values are based on what is feasible rather than the maximum effect of salt reduction. In an 'overall] analysis of longer-term trials, we looked at the 'results] of salt reduction and fall in blood pressure...

"All 3 studies demonstrated a consistent dose response to salt reduction... A reduction of 3 grams a day predicts a fall in blood pressure of 3.6 to 5.6 and 1.9 to 3.2 'points] 'in those with high blood pressure] and 1.8 to 3.5 and 0.8 to 1.8 'in those with normal blood pressure.]

"The effect would be doubled with a 6 gram a day reduction and tripled with a 9 gram a day reduction. Reducing salt intake by 9 grams a day would reduce strokes by approximately one third and 'heart disease] by one quarter...This would prevent 'more than] 20,500 stroke deaths and 31,400 heart disease deaths a year in the United Kingdom 'where the study was done. Obviously the number would be vastly higher in the U.S.] All emphases were added.

"The current recommendations to reduce salt intake of the 9 to 12 gram 'intake] to 5 to 6 grams a day will have a major effect on blood pressure and 'heart disease] but are not ideal. A further reduction to 3 grams...will have a much greater effect and should now become the long-term target for population salt intake worldwide."

DETAILS: This is good advice, but one should note that the recommendation does not say zero salt. This extreme would be unhealthful.

In: Hypertension (pub. by Amer. Heart Assn.,) vol. 42, 2003. By: Feng & MacGregor, Blood Pressure Unit, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, England.