To conduct the study, the authors extracted data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on more than 3,100 patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and coronary artery disease.

Patients participated in the study from 2009 to 2018 and filled out a questionnaire about everything they consumed within a 24-hour period. People with cardiovascular disease consumed an average of 3,096 mg of sodium per day, with 89% of participants with heart disease consuming more than the recommended amount of 1,500 mg per day.

The researchers took into account age, gender, race, and education, but found no differences between socioeconomic groups.

“The findings illustrate the challenges faced in estimating the amount of sodium people consume,” Bakovic says.

Healthcare professionals feel it is essential to change this to improve the lives of heart disease patients. Still, this study had limitations.

“This study is based on food recall questionnaires to determine sodium intake. This method can be highly inaccurate,” said an interventional cardiologist who was not involved in the study. said Dr. Bradley Serwer, Chief Medical Officer of Vital Solutions. “Patients are required to know exactly what and how much they ate. Unless they write it down or directly measure the food, their response is an estimate at best. The gold standard is 24 hours. Collecting urine and measuring sodium levels is difficult and tedious.”

Still, Sarwar believes the data is weighty and a call to action for health care workers.

“We need to be persistent and reiterate how important a low-salt diet is for heart health,” says Sarwar.

The idea that too much sodium can affect the heart is not new. However, providers share that new research highlights the importance of continued consumer education.

“This study highlights the fact that despite being aware of the risks and recommendations for reducing salt intake, many people with heart disease still consume excessively high levels of sodium.” says Michelle Rosenstein, M.D., preventive heart disease dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com.

That may sound ironic. If people are educated, why do we need continuing education? However, reducing sodium intake is difficult for several reasons.

“Many people are not aware of the amount of sodium in the foods they eat or underestimate how much sodium they are consuming each day,” Rosenstein says. “If you don’t actively check food labels and pay attention to sodium content, you can unknowingly end up consuming too much.”

First, salt doesn’t always taste good.

“These foods are not very salty, so you may not realize that they have high sodium content,” Rosenstein says.

on the other hand?

“Salt is delicious and makes food taste even better,” says Thurber.

It can be difficult to give up.

Also, nutrition labels are not available in restaurants (although some restaurants, especially chain restaurants, have nutrition facts posted online or on their menus).

“People may be consuming more sodium than they realize if they frequently eat at restaurants rather than at home, where there is a more controlled environment and added sodium can be monitored. Restaurants environment, this is virtually impossible to do,” says Bakovic.

A 2020 study of more than 2,500 people ages 10 and older showed that eating one meal outside the home per week was associated with increased sodium intake.

Although difficult, it is possible to reduce your sodium intake. Experts shared the following tips to help.

Develop your grocery store strategy

Rosenstein suggests spending most of your time around the grocery store.

“Avoid aisles if possible and choose unwrapped foods,” says Rosenstein. “When choosing foods in the grocery store aisle or frozen food aisle, you’re more likely to choose foods that have much higher sodium content and are rich in processed products.”

read the label

When browsing packaged foods, take a peek at the nutrition label and look for signs that the food may have too much salt.

“Understanding salt can help you feel more confident in your food choices and choose low-sodium foods,” Bakovic says. “Generally speaking, low-sodium foods are those that contain less than 5% of the daily intake of sodium as indicated in the “percentage of daily intake” column on the nutrition facts label. .”

“Note the difference in the wording of sodium,” Bakovic says. “Examples include monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, and kosher salt.”

use other seasonings

Cooking at home can help reduce salt intake, but the nutritionist stressed that it’s important to avoid over-salting.

Instead, Ruthenstein recommends seasoning foods with:

• Citrus juices such as lemon or grapefruit
• chili pepper
• garlic powder
• oregano powder
• Dijon, whole wheat, or dry mustard

eating out strategy

Eating out is not prohibited and people can take measures to reduce sodium intake in restaurants.

“When eating out, ask for sauces and dressings on the side,” says Rosenstein. “Choose grilled or steamed foods over fried foods, and request that they be cooked without added salt.”

Ask for help managing sodium intake

Reducing salt intake can be difficult, but you don’t have to go it alone, as this new study suggests.

“A nutritionist or registered dietitian can help you develop a sodium reduction plan,” says Salazar. “You can also talk to your doctor about strategies to reduce your sodium intake.”

If you want to talk to a registered dietitian, Rosenstein suggests using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Find a Professional tool, which lets you filter by location and specialty.