Potassium may help high blood pressure

Here's a quick news note, including for seniors

(Sept. 3, 2019)--A new (small) study out of Peru has found adding potassium to salt has important health benefits.

Specifically, all the families, stores, bake shops, and restaurants in a certain community got a new type of salt. A quarter of it--25%--of the traditional sodium chloride was replaced with potassium chloride.

The results? The ability to control hypertension (high blood pressure) got better, so blood pressure community-wide improved overall. Seniors especially benefited; 18% of those ages 60 and older saw greater bp benefits.

While the report notes one of the leaders, Dr. Bruce Neal of a global health group in Australia, admitted this is a "modest impact," he added it "would have an important population-level impact, especially if lifelong." The news item also said another leader noted that "although the average reductions seen with the intervention may seem trivial, lowering systolic pressure by 2 mm Hg can be expected to reduce stroke mortality by 10% and ischemic heart disease and other vascular deaths by 7%."

Note: for now of course

Indications are potassium can help blood pressure. PHOTO: soc7viaPixabay

average consumers can't directly change their salt's chemistry. But this does offer interesting insights.

To read more, see today's report in MedPageToday.