The European Society of Cardiology welcomes new research
published in the New England Journal of Medicine which
quantifies for the first time the annual number of new cases of
coronary heart disease, stroke and myocardial infarction that
could be prevented by populations reducing daily intakes of
salt. The data, says the ESC, underline the urgent need for
European Union public health measures to substantially reduce
the population's salt intake across Europe. "This study provides
excellent ammunition both to convince patients about the
benefits of reducing their individual salt intakes and also to
persuade the EU of the urgent need to introduce legislation to
restrict the salt content of processed foods," said ESC
spokesman Professor Frank Ruschitzka, a cardiologist and
hypertension specialist from the University of Zurich,
Switzerland. "This study represents the evidence that a
reduction of salt intake not only lowers blood pressure but also
prevents cardiovascular events. The case for population-wide
salt r