Earlier, scientists did not rule out that the opposite is true: hypertension increases sensitivity. Study published in Hypertention.
Excessive salt intake is known to increase the risk of developing hypertension. Doctors call people with hypersensitivity to salt those whose body reacts to salt by increasing pressure more than others. Scientists have known about this phenomenon for a relatively long time. However, the relationship between salt, body sensitivity to it, and blood pressure is still poorly understood. For example, the question remained open: is hypersensitivity to salt a cause of hypertension or its consequence?
How much salt should be removed from the diet to reduce blood pressure
In a new study, for the first time, scientists have calculated specific figures for lowering blood pressure with a decrease in the amount of sodium in the diet.
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In a new study, scientists from the US and China measured the level of salt sensitivity in 1,604 people whose blood pressure was below 140/90 millimeters of mercury (that is, they did not have hypertension). To do this, they first “kept” the participants on a low-salt diet for a week, then a week on a high-salt diet. In parallel, they noted how the participants' blood pressure changed.
Study participants were followed for more than sevenand years. The authors found that people with salt sensitivity had a 43% higher risk of developing hypertension than people with normal salt sensitivity.
Scientists believe their new findings suggest that increased sensitivity to salt is a cause, not a consequence, of hypertension.
«This really supports the idea that we need to pay more attention to reducing salt intake among all people,» said Jiang He. Jiang He of Tulane University, co-author of the study. He recalled that controlling blood pressure reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Another goal of the scientists was to discover the genes that are responsible for increased sensitivity to salt and the biomarkers associated with it. However, in this study, the authors failed to do so. They believe future research needs to identify ways to quickly identify individuals with high salt sensitivity.
Scientists hope that over time, personalized medicine will provide different means for the treatment and prevention of hypertension in different patient groups.
You can learn about how much salt you can eat per day and how much sodium you need to remove from the diet so that the pressure decreases, from our material.