For adults between 30 and 84, having too much sodium compared to potassium in your diet might nearly double your chances of having a heart problem — it’s not just about salt or potassium alone, but the balance between them.

If Iranian adults eat a diet where they get more sodium than potassium—specifically, a ratio over 1.26—they might be more than twice as likely to get heart disease over time.

If Japanese adults eat more sodium compared to potassium in their diet, they’re more likely to die from heart disease over time.

Iranian adults who eat more potassium — like from fruits and veggies — tend to have much lower chances of heart problems over 10 years, even if they have other risk factors.

For older adults who are overweight but don’t have heart disease or high blood pressure, eating more salt than potassium might raise their chance of dying within 5 years by about 19%—so it’s not just how much salt or potassium you eat, but how they balance each other.

In Iranian adults, eating more salt is linked to a higher chance of heart problems over time — every extra 1,000 mg of sodium a day is tied to a much higher risk, so cutting back on salt might help protect the heart.