People who significantly cut back on the amount of salt in their diet could reduce their chances of developing cardiovascular disease by a quarter, according to a recent report. Researchers in Boston also found a reduction in salt intake could lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by up to a fifth.

Cardiovascular disease refers to the group of diseases linked to the heart or arteries, for example a stroke or heart disease. While there is already a substantial body of evidence showing that cutting back on salt lowers blood pressure, studies showing subsequent levels of cardiovascular disease in the population have been limited and inconclusive. This new research provides some of the strongest objective evidence to date that cutting your salt intake by a mere three grams a day can reduce your long term risk of future cardiovascular disease.

Researchers followed up participants from two trials completed in the nineties which had been conducted to analyse the effect that reducing salt in the diet had on blood pressure. The reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular problems as a result of the sodium reduction intervention was substantial. The results showed these pre-hypertensive (pre-high blood pressure) individuals were 25% less likely to develop cardiovascular problems over the course of the 10-15 years post-trial. There was also a 20% lower mortality rate. This risk reduction was evident in each trial.

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