Low-salt diet keeps arteries flexible in people with difficult-to-control high blood pressure

Main Category: Hypertension
Article Date: 10 Oct 2004 - 0:00 PDT


For the first time in humans, researchers have shown that eating a low-salt diet can protect the arteries against stiffening in patients with resistant hypertension (uncontrolled on three or more medications).

Researchers evaluated 120 people with resistant hypertension and determined that 34 had aldosteronism - high levels of aldosterone (a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that affects blood pressure and salt balance), but low plasma renin activity. Renin is an enzyme released by the kidney to help control the body's salt and fluid balance and blood pressure.

Using ultrasound, researchers measured the diameter of the brachial artery in the upper arm. The ability of an artery to relax and expand in response to increases in blood flow (FMD, or flow mediated dilation) is a sign of a flexible artery with a healthy inner lining (endothelium).

In these 34 patients, they found that the 10 who were eating a low-sodium diet had significantly more flexible arteries (average FMD 2.6 percent) than the 24 eating a high-sodium diet (average FMD 1.6 percent).

The groups were similar in age, body mass, blood pressure, medication use and aldosterone excretion. Five subjects who consumed very little sodium had the best FMD (3.4 percent). The results indicate that reducing salt intake can protect against aldosterone-induced reduction in blood vessel flexibility, and that measuring urinary aldosterone and sodium may help predict cardiovascular risk in patients with resistant hypertension.

From the American Heart Association 58th Annual High Blood Pressure Research Conference

3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 9
(Presentation time: 6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 9).
Abstract P67 -

Contact: Maggie Francis
maggie.francis@heart.org
214-706-1397
American Heart Association

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