One in four affected This simple measure lowers blood pressure within a week
Hypertension is commonplace in Switzerland: one in four adults in this country suffers from it. A study shows how a small change can lower blood pressure in just one week.
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- One in four adults in Switzerland has high blood pressure.
- A US study has investigated how effective a low-salt diet is.
- It was able to lower blood pressure in three quarters of the subjects within a week.
"High blood pressure is widespread," writes the University Hospital Zurich. "In Switzerland, it is estimated that one in four adults has high blood pressure. That is the equivalent of around 1.5 million people."
A study by Northwestern University in Chicago shows that hypertension can be combated with a simple remedy. Three quarters of the test subjects even responded to the change within a week: it involved switching to a low-salt diet with a maximum of 500 milligrams of salt per day.
More salt does not lead to higher blood pressure
Age, gender or diseases such as diabetes made no difference. "High blood pressure can lead to heart failure, heart attacks and strokes because it puts additional strain on the arteries," explains Norrina Allen, who led the study.
It is known that table salt increases blood pressure, says Allen. "We didn't know until now whether people who are already taking blood pressure medication can actually lower their blood pressure more by reducing their sodium levels."
The low-salt diet with a maximum of 0.5 grams per day was able to lower the subjects' blood pressure by 8 mm Hg in the first week and by 7 mm Hg in the second week. However, blood pressure did not rise in the control group, which was given 2.2 grams more salt than usual: a satiety effect is suspected here.