Karen Infeld
(410) 955-1534
[email protected]
May 15, 2000
Changes in Diet and Salt Intake Can Dramatically Reduce Blood Pressure -- Hopkins Investigator Available to Discuss Results of DASH-Sodium Study
With a more healthy diet and less salt, individuals can dramatically lower their blood pressure, according to the results of a nationwide study at Johns Hopkins and four other academic medical centers.
Results of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension-Sodium (DASH-Sodium) trial, to be presented at a press briefing Wednesday, May 17, at the American Society of Hypertension annual meeting in New York, show that the DASH diet combined with a lower than average salt intake can substantially reduce blood pressure in people with and without hypertension. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and is reduced in fat. The study of 412 people found that both a lower salt intake and the DASH diet lowered blood pressure, but combining them was more effective than either alone. Combined, they reduced systolic blood pressure (the upper number) by 8.9 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) by 4.5 mmHg.
Lawrence J. Appel, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins and one of the principal investigators of the study, says this is "the most definitive study on salt and its effects on blood pressure that's ever been done."
"Earlier studies had differed in their designs and led to confusion over whether reducing salt intake is worthwhile for those who had not yet developed high blood pressure," Appel says. "Results from DASH-Sodium settle this controversy and further emphasize the powerful effects of dietary change on blood pressure. People can make dietary changes on their own, but we need the cooperation of food manufacturers to cut back on salt in prepared foods."
The current study builds on findings from the DASH study, published three years ago in The New England Journal of Medicine, showing that the special diet substantially and quickly lowered blood pressure. That study, however, did not look at the impact of salt.
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To interview Appel, please contact me at 410-955-1534 or [email protected]. Please observe the meeting embargo of Wednesday, May 17, at 11 a.m.
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