by health personnel
health reporter
Protein Intake For Fat Loss - High Salt Intake May Double Heart Failure Risk
To investigate the connection between salt intake and heart failure, the researchers performed a 12-year follow-up study of more than 4,600 people who participated in two major Finnish studies between 1979 and 2002. Participants ranged from 25 to 64 years old. When the initial study began.
For follow-up, the researchers performed sodium extraction 24 hours - the "gold standard" to measure individual salt intake. They also collected information on participants' lifestyle habits, weight, height and blood pressure. In addition, the researchers took blood and urine samples and traced the health of the participants, using death, hospital discharge and drug reimbursement records.
For 12 years, 121 men and women have developed heart failure. The researchers found that consuming more than 6,800 milligrams of salt - about 1.2 teaspoons - each day is linked to heart failure, regardless of blood pressure.
Risk of heart failure increased along with salt intake, with the greatest intake doubling risk. "The ideal daily salt intake is probably even lower than [6,800 milligrams]," Jousilahti said.
However, the study found only one association, not a direct cause relationship and effect, between salt consumption and heart failure.A teaspoon of salt is 2,300 milligrams (MG) of sodium, says the American Heart Association.
The American average receives about 3,400 mg of sodium per day, most processed and prepared foods, according to the Heart Association.
The World Health Organization currently recommends that adults receive more than 2,000 mg of sodium every day.
The study discoveries were presented on Sunday at the ESC annual meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Studies presented in meetings are generally considered preliminary until they are published in a pair-revised medical journal.
