Too much or too little salt can hurt your heart
Impact of sodium intake on blood pressure, mortality and major cardiovascular events: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Salt substitutes reduce cardiovascular deaths by 9 per 1,000 people but reduce stroke risk by only 1 per 1,000.
Most assume reducing sodium (via substitutes) would lower stroke risk significantly, since high blood pressure is a major stroke cause. The near-zero effect on stroke is unexpected.
Practical Takeaways
Switch from regular salt to salt substitutes (like potassium chloride blends) in home cooking to reduce risk of heart-related death.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Salt substitutes reduce cardiovascular deaths by 9 per 1,000 people but reduce stroke risk by only 1 per 1,000.
Most assume reducing sodium (via substitutes) would lower stroke risk significantly, since high blood pressure is a major stroke cause. The near-zero effect on stroke is unexpected.
Practical Takeaways
Switch from regular salt to salt substitutes (like potassium chloride blends) in home cooking to reduce risk of heart-related death.
Publication
Journal
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
Year
2024
Authors
Qiuyu Yang, R. Vernooij, Hongfei Zhu, G. Nesrallah, Chunyang Bai, Qi Wang, Ying Li, Danni Xia, Małgorzata M. Bała, Sylwia Warzecha, Mingyao Sun, Ahmad Jayedi, Sakineh Shab-Bidart, Bei Pan, Jinhui Tian, Kehu Yang, Long Ge, Bradley C. Johnston
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Claims (5)
Eating too little or too much salt might both be bad for your heart — people who eat way less than 3,000 mg or way more than 6,000 mg of salt a day seem to have a higher chance of heart problems or dying from them.
Eating less salt might help keep your heart healthy and prevent serious heart problems, especially if you're not already at high risk for heart disease.
Using salt substitutes doesn’t really help prevent strokes — out of 1000 people, maybe just one less person will have a stroke over time.
Eating less salt can lower your blood pressure a little bit, and that might help keep your heart healthier and prevent heart problems.
Switching to salt substitutes may help prevent 12 out of every 1000 people from dying from any cause, and 9 out of every 1000 from heart-related problems, over time.