Does Eating Too Much Salt Cause Hypertension?

 

Hypertension is associated with overweight and obesity, alcohol intake and being sedentary. Various drugs and herbal remedies, glandular disorders and kidney diseases can cause ‘secondary hypertension’.

However, some people who have none of these other risk factors still develop high blood pressure when their salt intake is too high, making salt the ‘prime suspect’.

It is known that hypertensive patients who reduced their intake of salts recorded well-controlled blood pressures. They are also known to have less risks of the complications of Hypertension.

High blood pressure is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. It accounts for two-thirds of all strokes and half of heart disease.  

Too much intake of salt has been linked to High Blood Pressure and the development of associated cardiovascular complications.

Here is how:

In most people especially individuals at risk, the kidneys have trouble keeping up with the excess sodium in the bloodstream. Sodium follows water. As sodium accumulates, the body holds onto water to dilute the sodium.

This increases both the amount of fluid surrounding cells and the volume of blood in the bloodstream. Increased blood volume puts pressure on the heart and more pressure on blood vessels.
Over time, the extra work causes the blood vessel to stiffen, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, It can also lead to heart failure.

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In heart conditions such as where there is reduced blood flow to the heart, the cells in the heart don't work as well as they should because they are not receiving enough oxygen and nutrients. However, lowering blood pressure may help to alleviate some of the problems and reduce the risk of greater damage.

However, If you continue to eat too much salt then, over time, the damage caused by the extra blood pressure may become so severe that the arteries burst or become completely clogged.

If this happens, then the part of the heart that was receiving the blood no longer gets the oxygen and nutrients it needs and dies. The result is a heart attack.

The best way to prevent a heart attack is to stop the arteries becoming damaged. And one of the best ways of doing this is keep your blood pressure down by eating less salt.

 

Effect on the arteries

The extra blood pressure caused by eating too much salt puts extra strain on the insides of your arteries. In response to the extra strain, the tiny muscles in the arterial walls become stronger and thicker. This increases the total peripheral resistance of the vessel and further increases the force with which blood moves through.

It can ultimately lead to the arteries bursting or becoming so narrow that they then clog up entirely. When this happens, the organs of the body that were receiving the blood from the arteries become starved of the oxygen and nutrients they need. This can result in the organs being damaged and can be fatal.

Some researches also say the too much salt can damage bones too.