Adopting This Simple Habit May Help You Avoid Heart Failure, New Study Says

Salt has long been seen as the enemy of our cardiovascular health, with low-sodium foods and diets falling among the top suggestions to avoid high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions like heart disease. However, recent research shows that lowering your risk of heart complications may not have to require drastic reductions in sodium after all. In fact, the implications of a recent study suggest that one simple trick may actually reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease: All you need to do is refrain from adding salt to your food after it’s prepared.

Published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in December ’22, the study looked at the dietary habits of 176,570 individuals living in the UK to assess the relationship between added salt in foods and the risk for heart failure and heart disease, including ischemic heart disease (IHD). When the research began, every individual was completely free of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, after following up with participants a little over 11 years later, researchers discovered a significant association between the frequency at which salt was added and heart health. There were 9,963 cases of cardiovascular events, 2,007 cases of stroke, 2,269 incidents of heart failure, and 6,693 participants who reported IHD, also known as coronary heart disease.

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