The relationship between the sodium/potassium ratio and vascular function
Date
2012
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Hypertension (HTN) is an extremely prevalent form of cardiovascular disease and currently afflicts 74.5 million Americans. Dysfunction of the vasculature may predispose an individual to developing HTN or high blood pressure (BP). Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise play an important role in influencing BP. Research has shown that diets high in sodium can raise BP, whereas a high potassium diet may be protective against this. Further, evidence is mounting that a high sodium intake may be detrimental to the vasculature. The purpose of this study was to perform a cross-sectional examination of the role of sodium and potassium intake on vascular function in young healthy adults. Thirty-two subjects (16M, 16F) with an average age of 24 + 3.4 years were recruited for this study. Participants recorded their dietary intake for 3 days and following the third day, underwent vascular function testing to determine pulse wave analysis (PWA), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Sodium and potassium excretion was measured using a 24-hour urine collection. Analysis of the dietary data indicates that subjects consumed above recommended levels of sodium (3862.15±293 mg/day) and below recommended levels of potassium (3922±148 mg/day) over the 3 days. Individuals with high sodium consumption had the highest sodium/potassium excretion ratio (p=0.024), and those with the highest potassium consumption had the lowest sodium/potassium excretion ratios (p=0.04). For the males, a low
sodium/potassium excretion ratio was associated with better augmentation index (p=0.031). This relationship did not exist for the females. Additionally, there was no relationship between sodium consumed nor sodium excreted and FMD or PWV in both males and females. Further, there was no relationship between potassium and these measurements. In conclusion, in this small sample size, no clear relationship between sodium intake and vascular function could be established for all subjects. In regards to sex, men with lower ratios exhibited more elastic arteries but more research is needed to explore this topic further.