A U.S. study reported that consuming less salt can not only lower blood pressure, but may reduce the risk of heart disease overall, according to media reports Friday.(File Photo)

    BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhuanet) -- A U.S. study reported that consuming less salt can not only lower blood pressure, but may reduce the risk of heart disease overall, according to media reports Friday.

    Researchers found that reducing the amount of salt in the diet can lower the risk of total cardiovascular disease by 25 percent.

    The lead researcher Nancy Cook said: "Dietary intake of sodium among Americans is excessively high." Cook, who is also an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, added, "Our study suggests that reducing the level of salt in the diet would lead to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease."

    Sodium is known to affect blood pressure levels, particularly among people with high blood pressure, according to Cook.

    "Among hypertensive individuals, lowering sodium is pretty well established to lower blood pressure," she said. "Now it looks like reducing sodium also has an effect on cardiovascular disease."

    In the study, researchers examined people from two trials that analyzed the effect of reduced salt consumption on blood pressure.

    All the participants in the trials had "high-normal" blood pressure -- sometimes called "pre-hypertension" -- and were at increased risk of developing heart disease.

    The first Trial of Hypertension Prevention, completed in 1990, consisted of 744 people; the second trial had 2,382 participants, which ended in 1995.

    People in both trials reduced their salt intake by about 25 percent to 35 percent. Each trial also include a control group that didn't reduce salt intake.

    The researchers found that those who reduced their salt intake were 25 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease 10 to 15 years after the trials ended. There was also a 20 percent lower death rate from cardiovascular disease among those who cut their salt consumption.

    This study, according to the authors, is the first and only study of sufficient size and duration to assess the effects of a low salt diet on cardiovascular problems based on randomised trial data.

    (Agencies)