Top in cardiology: Benefits of low-salt diet; free produce deliveries improve blood sugar
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients experienced a 7 mm Hg or greater reduction in systolic BP after switching to a low-salt diet, according to a trial presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.
Nearly three-quarters of patients experienced the change in BP, which researchers said was comparable to the effects of hydrochlorothiazide, a common antihypertensive medication.
“Dietary sodium is a major contributor to blood pressure itself, and on average in the United States, consumption of sodium average is about 3,500 mg per day, which is far in excess of the AHA, World Health Organization and Department of Health and Human Services recommendations of 1,500 mg to 2,300 mg per day,” Deepak K. Gupta, MD, MSCI, FAHA, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center in the division of cardiovascular medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said during a press conference.
It was the top story in cardiology last week.
In another top story, patients with type 2 diabetes saw an improvement in their blood sugar levels after 6 months of receiving free weekly deliveries of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as nutritional counseling via telephone. A majority of participants (58.3%) were food insecure at enrollment.
Read these and more top stories in cardiology below:
Low-salt diet confers similar BP benefit to common first-line antihypertensive medication
Switching to a low-sodium diet conferred blood pressure benefits similar to that of hydrochlorothiazide, a common first-line antihypertensive medication, a speaker reported. Read more.
Free deliveries of fresh produce improved blood sugar in adults with diabetes
Free weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables alongside nutritional counseling significantly reduced blood sugar among adults with type 2 diabetes, a speaker reported. Read more.
Inflammation predicts events more than cholesterol in high-risk statin-intolerant patients
In the CLEAR Outcomes cohort of patients with statin intolerance, inflammation predicted risk for cardiovascular events and death more strongly than cholesterol, researchers reported at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. Read more.
Q&A: Food Is Medicine initiative to set stage for future dietary intervention research
A recent American Heart Association Presidential Advisory stated that roughly 90% of the $4.3 trillion spent annually in the U.S. on health care is consumed by treatment of chronic disease, for which poor diet is often a major risk factor. Read more.
AI-enabled ECGs reduce time to cath lab in patients with suspected STEMI
An artificial intelligence-enabled ECG was associated with shorter time from ECG to catheterization laboratory entry in patients with suspected ST-elevation myocardial infarction, according the results of the ARISE study. Read more.