engleski

Dietary salt and vascular function

A number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have confirmed that there is a link between high dietary NaCl intake and the level of arterial blood pressure. High dietary salt intake is one of the most important risk factor in development of hypertension, which is the most important risk factor for cerebral stroke. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends up to 5 g NaCl daily intake for an adult person. In contrast, all over the Europe and Western countries salt intake is 2-3 times higher than recommended. One of the main pathomechanisms associated with high salt intake is the suppression of renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which is the main regulator of body fluid volume balance and osmolarity. Novel results of the research have emphasize the crucial role of the RAS in maintenance of physiological mechanisms of blood vessel function, including cerebral vessels, and endothelial responses to various stimuli, which are impaired in hypertension. Increased dietary salt intake is a significant risk factor for development of endothelial dysfunction and impairment of microcirculatory blood flow, even in the absence of hypertension. Thus both governments’ organized and individual efforts should be taken to reduce dietary salt intake.

high salt intake; RAS; microcirculation; rats; human; hypertension

plenarno predavanje, međunarodna recenzija