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Less salt, less risk of cardiovascular events

Reducing salt intake reduces the long-term risk of cardiovascular events.

Reducing salt intake lowers blood pressure in patients suffering from hypertension, as well as in the population at large. However, until now, there was no evidence to confirm that reducing salt helped prevent cardiovascular events.

2 trials have now provided such evidence. These trials evaluated the impact of reducing salt intake for at least 18 to 48 months on heart attack, stroke, coronary bypass and angioplasty, and on deaths as a result of a cardiovascular event. One study involved 744 patients and the other more than 2,300. 10 to 15 years on, a reduction of cardiovascular events was observed in around 25% of people who had reduced their salt intake. The trials did not reveal a drop in mortality.

In people aged under 55 with blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg, a reduction in salt intake seems to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, with no visible impact on mortality. These results support the recommendation to reduce sodium intake in the diet of the population as a whole.

©Prescrire December 2007

Source: "Sel et évènements cardiovasculaires" Rev Prescrire 2007 ; 27 (290) : 927.

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