An article published by the American Heart Association journal Hypertension states that 20,000 to 50,000 lives could be saved in the next ten years if sodium is reduced in the U.S. diet.
Three research groups used different computer stimulations to analyse the effect reduction of sodium in a person's diet would have on his or her health. While the first group used observational cardiovascular outcome follow-up data, the other two groups based their observations on the fact that lower salt intake in a person's diet also lowers blood pressure.
"The research groups used the same target populations and baseline death rates for each projection, and our study found that the different sources of evidence for the cardiovascular effects of sodium led to similar projected outcomes," said Pamela Coxson, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a mathematics specialist in the department of medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D, M.D., senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine at UCSF and director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations said that the three groups using three different stimulations was very helpful in getting more accurate results.
Researchers found that Americans currently consume an average 3,600 mg of sodium a day, 80 percent of which comes from commercially prepared and processed foods.
Food options in the U.S. make it difficult for people to choose lower sodium food, which in turn makes it difficult to achieve the recommended daily levels of sodium consumption. It was found that the intake of excessive amounts of salt results in high blood pressure, which in turn causes heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases.
Since cardiovascular diseases have been found to be the leading cause of death in the U.S., with more than half of them being caused due to high blood pressure, scientists found that reduction of salt consumption could save thousands of lives.
"These findings strengthen our understanding that sodium reduction is beneficial to people at all ages," Coxson said. "Even small, gradual reductions in sodium intake would result in substantial mortality benefits across the population.
