Common salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), it is essential to the health of humans and animals, and is one of the five basic taste sensations.Too much or too little salt in the diet can lead to various cramps in the muscle, dizziness, or electrolyte disturbance. This can cause neurological problems, or death. Drinking too much water, with insufficient salt intake, puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia).Death can occur by ingestion of large amounts of salt within a short time (about 1 g per kg of body weight).

High sodium excretion is associated with elevated risk for cardiovascular events, but only in people with preexisting hypertension, a Lancet study finds. Meanwhile, low sodium excretion is also associated with increased risk.

The study, which received industry funding, combined patients from four international studies. Over 130,000 participants provided morning fasting urine samples and baseline blood pressure measurements. Nearly half had hypertension at baseline.

After a median follow-up of 4 years, 11% of participants with hypertension and 4% without experienced the primary outcome, a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure.

In hypertensive patients, a sodium excretion rate of at least 7 g/day was associated with increased CV risk (adjusted hazard ratio 1.23), relative to 4–4.99 g/day. A low excretion rate (less than 3 g/day) was also associated with increased risk (HR, 1.34). But in non-hypertensive patients, only low sodium excretion was tied to higher risk (HR, 1.26).

Comments: Watch your salt and consider low sodium salt, salt substitutes, and all in moderation and only after a consultation with your physician _always!BA

Source: Journal review – Associations of urinary sodium excretion with cardiovascular events in individuals with and without hypertension: a pooled analysis of data from four studies; Mente A et al. Published online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30467-6