EXCESSIVE SALT INTAKE RELATED TO INCREASED DEATHS

Research on the effect of salt on mortality was presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) meeting called the AHA Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions. It was found that salt was responsible for 15% of worldwide deaths in 2010 through heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related illnesses. This equates to 2.3 million deaths. About 1 million of these deaths were premature. This was determined through meta analysis of randomized trials that measured the affect of sodium on blood pressure and how the blood pressure affected heart disease. The countries with the highest death rates due to sodium were Ukraine, Russia, and Egypt (looking at the 30th largest countries in the world). The US ranked 19th, showing that 1 in 10 US deaths are due to excessive sodium.