Doctors in practice are focused on treating hypertension. A growing number are interested in the cause of primary hypertension so they can prevent it. For several decades, studies on the cause of hypertension have focused on sodium. Only recently has the balance of potassium and sodium as a cause of hypertension been understood. Even so, the balance of potassium and sodium as a cause of hypertension has made its way into recent medical physiology textbooks. But it has not made its way into medical practice. The importance of this balance is not widely realized. And it is not discussed in many of the publications and studies in the medical literature. The majority of studies still focus on sodium. One such study is a recent study (1) that discusses the link of the kidney to blood pressure, and focuses on the kidney's regulation of sodium. It mostly ignores potassium.
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Swiss Strategy To Reduce Salt
The Swiss have a 26% prevalence of hypertension in their general population with 50% hypertension in those more than 60 years old. The medical community in this country is seeking a strategy to reduce salt to prevent hypertension. The article (1) to be discussed in this post presents the reasoning behind their strategy.
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Sodium Mortality Debate
Within the medical community there continues to be a debate about whether lower sodium consumption reduces cardiovascular mortality. The debate involves two schools of thought. The first is that the lower the sodium consumption, the lower the cardiovascular mortality. The other group feels that there is an association of sodium consumption with cardiovascular mortality that is U-shaped or J-shaped. At both the higher and lower ends of sodium consumption there is an increase in mortality. In the center portion, which approximately corresponds to the average present American consumption, there is the lowest mortality.
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