Cardiovascular disease remains a major Public Health problem and is the leading cause of death in the US. Dietary sodium restriction is considered an important lifestyle modification for individuals with hypertension; however, there is controversy about the effects of dietary salt given that many individuals do not have salt sensitive blood pressure. Deleterious effects of salt on the vasculature may explain the finding that chronic DSR reduces the cardiovascular event rate by 25%despite only minor reductions in BP. It is not known whether dietary sodium restriction improves central pulsatile hemodynamics, known to be related to the development of left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure risk, and whether the hypothesized improvements in central hemodynamics are similar in men & women. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of dietary sodium restriction through dietary counseling on central hemodynamics and vascular function in men and women with salt resistant blood pressure.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of dietary salt restriction on central hemodynamics and vascular function in men and women with salt resistant blood pressure.