HMS Study Shows Cutting Salt Helps Heart

Craving that salty snack? Think again.

Reducing sodium intake can significantly decrease odds of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by Harvard Medical School researcher Nancy R. Cook.

The study, published online last Thursday in the British Medical Journal, followed 3,126 subjects over 10 to 15 years. Researchers found that subjects who reduced their salt intake were 25 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

“The reduction in cardiovascular disease was larger than we expected,” said Cook, who is affiliated with the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She added that although excessive sodium intake has been linked with hypertension and high blood pressure, this is the first study to comprehensively trace the long-term link between dietary sodium levels and cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. The mortality rate was also slightly lower in the group that reduced sodium intake, although not statistically significant.

Most Americans consume much more than the recommended maximum amount of 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual dietary guidelines. Yet Cook said the problem is difficult to address because it depends on more than consumer choice.

“Most of the sodium we eat comes from processed food and restaurant meals, so if we can reduce the sodium in those foods, it would go a long way to reducing the whole population’s intake,” she said.

Jeffrey A. Cutler of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the team that conducted the study, said he thought the study may encourage people to cut back their sodium intake.

“We really hope that this will play into the science-based pressure on food suppliers to reduce a lot of the extra salt that they put into our products,” Cutler said.

According to Shiriki K. Kumanyika, another member of the team, it is unlikely that a study of this scale will be repeated, although could influence future studies.

“I think the principle has been established,” she said, “and the next study should focus on how it should be implemented.”