What advice should healthcare professionals give to patients with heart failure regarding salt and fluid consumption?
Healthcare professionals should not routinely advise patients with heart failure to restrict salt or fluid, but there may be specific clinical circumstances where restriction is appropriate. For example, both salt and fluid restriction may be beneficial in very severe or advanced heart failure, and fluid restriction may be beneficial for hyponatraemia. Healthcare professionals should ask their patients about their levels of salt and fluid consumption in order to provide appropriate advice. If needed, they should advise restricting fluids for people with dilutional hyponatraemia, reducing intake for people with high levels of salt and/or fluid consumption, and continue to review the need to restrict salt or fluid. People with heart failure should also avoid salt substitutes that contain potassium.