Treatment of Borderline Hypertension Moderate Salt Restriction in the Treatment of Borderline Hypertension

Abstract

Seventeen patients with borderline hypertension and 11 patients with sustained hypertension were instructed to reduce their salt intake to 5-8 g/day. We checked whether or not the patients were following instructions by estimating their 24-hour. urinary sodium excretion (UnaV). In borderline hypertension, the UNaV was 5.6 ± 0.4g/24-hour on a normal salt diet and 3.7 ± 0.3 (p < 0.01) on a salt-restricted diet, while in sustained hypertension it was 4.9±0.3g and 3.6 ± 0.4g/24-hour (p<0.01), respectively. After moderate salt restriction there was a significant fall in blood pressure in the supine, sitting and standing positions in both the borderline and the sustained hypertensives. There was a significant relationship between the fall of mean blood pressure in the supine position and the decrease in the 24-hour urinary soidum excretion, which was corrected for 24-hour creatinine excretion, in overall hypertensive patients (r = 0.39, p < 0.05). In the borderline hypertensive group, both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the sitting position were 8.7 mmHg or 6.3% (p<0.01) and 6.2 mmHg or 6.6% lower (p < 0.01) on salt-restricted diets than those on normal salt diets, respectively. In 9 of 14 patients with borderline hypertension, the diastolic blood pressure moved into the normal range during the salt restriction. We suggest that moderate salt restriction is an effective management of borderline hypertension. © 1983, The Japanese Circulation Society. All rights reserved.