Swapping salt for substitutes could lower the risk of stroke, heart conditions and death from all causes, researchers have found.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. A diet high in salt is known to raise blood pressure and cause heart disease and stroke.
A new study published in the journal Heart has found that replacing salt with dietary substitutes, in which a proportion of sodium chloride is replaced with potassium chloride, could help lower blood pressure.
The researchers analysed the effects of salt substitutes on blood pressure in 21 clinical trails, involving nearly 32,000 participants.
The study found that salt substitutes reduced blood pressure in all participants regardless of their region, age, sex, weight and blood pressure-related factors, with no adverse effects from the increased intake of potassium chloride.
“Salt substitutes produce consistent blood pressure-lowering effects across geographies and diverse participant subsets,” the researchers noted.
A smaller analysis of 24,000 participants showed that switching to salt substitutes reduced the risk of stroke, heart attack and early death from any cause by 11 per cent while the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 13 per cent.
Previous research conducted by the University of Naples have directly assessed the relationship between levels of habitual salt intake and rates of stroke and cardiovascular disease.
The analysis has shown that a difference of 5g a day was associated with a 23 per cent difference in the rate of stroke and a 17 per cent difference in the rate of total cardiovascular disease.
Around 1.28 billion people around the world have high blood pressure, although more than half of these are undiagnosed. High blood pressure, also know as hypertension, remains the most prevalent risk factor for stroke.
