American Heart Association warns Seniors; disputes new study findings on low sodium diets

AHA president says the findings of the recent survey are not valid and could be dangerous, as the association between high sodium consumption and heart disease is well documented over years of scientific research

The American Heart Association is warning senior citizens, who are the most common victims of heart disease, that recent study findings that reported that low sodium diets were actually unsafe are total wrong and could be dangerous. The study, published May 20 in The Lancet, reports that no one really needs a low sodium diet, and that cardiovascular risk is actually increased by not consuming enough salt.

According to Senior Journal, the AHA says the evidence linking excessive sodium and high blood pressure is indisputable, and that these conditions are associated with higher risks of stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.

President of the AHA Mark A. Creager, MD, who is also director of the Heart and Vascular Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, says, “The findings in this study are not valid, and you shouldn’t use it to inform yourself about how you’re going to eat. The large body of science clearly shows how excessive amounts of sodium in the American diet can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, and even death.”

As reported previously in World Tech Today, researchers at Population Health Research Institute of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences found that average sodium consumption is a better protection against cardiovascular disease than a low sodium diet in a global study involving 130,000 participants. They found that only those with high blood pressure really benefit from consuming less salt, and that even they should not drop sodium consumption too low. The study is published in The Lancet.

Calling the study “flawed,” AHA past president Daniel W. Jones, MD, encourages the public to continue to consume less sodium, saying that many other well-done studies support limiting daily sodium intake to 1500mg per day. According to the AHA, only those working regularly in extreme heat, or who have uncommon, specific illnesses should not reduce their sodium levels.

The U.S. government recommends consumption of no more than 2,300mg of sodium per day, and the World Health Organization recommends only 2,000. Most Americans consume more than twice the AHA recommended limit of 1,500mg.