Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 2, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Reducing sodium is essential to treating heart disease, but most heart disease patients fail to limit their salt intake, a new study finds. did.

On average, people with heart disease consume more than twice the recommended daily amount of salt, researchers report.

Sodium is essential for human health, but consuming too much sodium can increase blood pressure, damage blood vessels and increase the workload on the heart, researchers say.

Also, too much salt can cause your body to retain water, which can worsen conditions such as heart failure.

U.S. dietary guidelines recommend that people with heart disease limit sodium to 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day, and that healthy people keep their salt intake to less than 2,300 mg per day.

However, of a sample of more than 3,100 heart patients, 9 in 10 (89%) reported consuming more than the recommended daily maximum of 1,500 mg/day, the study found. said the people.

In fact, the researchers noted that heart disease patients consume an average of 3,096 mg/day of salt, which is only slightly lower than the national average of 3,400 mg/day previously reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The relatively small difference in sodium intake means that people with cardiovascular disease restrict their sodium intake less than the general population and consume more than twice the recommended amount. “This suggests that there is a significant increase in the number of patients,” said lead researcher Dr. Elsie Kodjoe, an internal medicine resident. at Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in Athens, Georgia.

For the study, researchers analyzed dietary data of people who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and 2018 and were diagnosed with heart disease.

Researchers said it can be difficult for heart patients to estimate the amount of salt in supermarket items or take-out meals.

“Adherence to a low-sodium diet remains difficult even for patients with cardiovascular disease who are highly motivated to comply,” Kodjoe says.

“To make it easier for patients to adhere to dietary guidelines, the general public needs to find more practical ways to estimate dietary sodium concentrations or reduce the sodium content of foods consumed directly from the source. “We need to consider this,” Kojo said. Added.

The researchers noted that there appeared to be no significant differences in salt intake based on people’s income, gender, race, or education.

The study will be presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Atlanta. Research results presented at medical conferences should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Researchers say people from all backgrounds can protect their heart health by preparing more meals at home, where they can better control salt levels.

People can also read food labels more closely and limit their intake of foods with sodium levels above 140 milligrams.

“Cardiovascular disease is real and the number one cause of morbidity and mortality.” [illness and death] worldwide, according to the World Health Organization,” Kodjoe said in an ACC news release. “Adhering to sodium guidelines is one strategy that individuals can easily adopt to reduce hospitalizations, medical costs, and morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular disease,” he said.

Source: American College of Cardiology, News Release, April 2, 2024

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