Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood around the body properly with a heart attack, high blood pressure or cardiomyopathy, diseases of the heart muscle, the most common causes.
Symptoms include breathlessness after activity or even rest, feeling tired most of the time, and swollen ankles and legs.
High salt intake is associated with a doubled risk of heart failure, according to a 12-year study in more than 4,000 people presented today at ESC Congress.
“High salt (sodium chloride) intake is one of the major causes of high blood pressure and an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke,” said Professor PekkaJousilahti, research professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
“In addition to CHD and stroke, heart failure is one of the major cardiovascular diseases in Europe and globally but the role of high salt intake in its development is unknown.”
Experts suggest people should eat no more than 6 grams – the eqivalent of a teaspoon – of salt a day.
This study looked at the relationship of salt intake and the development of heart failure.
Estimation of individual salt intake is methodologically demanding and therefore suitable population-based cohorts are rare.
This study used 24 hour sodium extraction, which is considered the gold standard for salt intake estimation on individuals.
This was a follow-up study of 4,630 randomly selected men and women aged 25 to 64 years who participated in the North Karelia Salt Study and the National FINRISK Study between 1979 and 2002 in Finland.
Participants completed a questionnaire on health behaviour, and recorded their weight, height and blood pressure.
Experts also took a blood and urine sample for laboratory analysis.
The participants were followed up for 12 years through computerised register linkage to National Health Records.
Cases of incident heart failure were identified from the Causes of Death Register, the Hospital Discharge Register and drug reimbursement records.
During the follow-up, 121 men and women developed new heart failure.
Professor Jousilahti said: “The heart does not like salt.
“High salt intake markedly increases the risk of heart failure. This salt-related increase in heart failure risk was independent of blood pressure.”
“People who consumed more than 13.7 grams of salt daily had a two times higher risk of heart failure compared to those consuming less than 6.8 grams,” he said.
“The optimal daily salt intake is probably even lower than 6.8 grams. The World Health Organization recommends a maximum of 5 grams per day and the physiological need is 2 to 3 grams per day.”
Professor Jousilahti said: “Studies in larger, pooled population cohorts are needed to make more detailed estimations of the increased heart failure risk associated with consuming salt.”
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