People who've experienced heart failure and eat a high-salt diet are more likely to end up in the hospital, a new study finds. "High salt intake is particularly dangerous for heart failure patients, even for those who are doing well and are stable on their medications," author Dr. Gary E. Newton of Mount Sinai Hospital in Ontario told Reuters Health.
In the study, people who ate an average of 3.8 grams of sodium per day - equivalent to nearly 2 teaspoons of salt, and more than twice the maximum recommended by the American Heart Association for healthy people - were twice as likely to be hospitalised for heart failure within a 3-year window as people who ate fewer salty foods.
Health experts generally suggest that people limit their salt intake, but the scientific evidence to support that recommendation for people with heart failure is generally "scant," Newton said.
The American Heart Association, for one, recommends that healthy people eat less than 1.5 grams of sodium per day. However, on average, Americans consume nearly 3.5 grams per day.
To investigate what effect a saltier diet might have on heart failure, Newton and his team followed 123 people with stable heart failure, the final stage of cardiovascular disease marked by shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling.