Reduction in dietary sodium may lower the risk for cardiovascular disease among prehypertensive patients, according to a study published early online in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers evaluated long-term follow-up data on some 2400 prehypertensive adults who had been randomized to reduced sodium intake or usual care in the two Trials of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP). Ten to fifteen years after the trials ended, the risk for cardiovascular disease was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (adjusted relative risk, 0.70). Results of a final follow-up questionnaire suggested that intervention patients had maintained lower sodium intake than controls.
The authors conclude that "sodium reduction, previously shown to lower blood pressure and prevent hypertension, also seems to prevent cardiovascular disease." They add that their findings provide "strong support for population-wide reduction in dietary sodium intake to prevent cardiovascular disease."
Link: BMJ article (Free PDF)
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