Does potassium-enriched salt or sodium reduction reduce cardiovascular mortality and medical expenses?

摘要

The article entitled "Effect of potassium-enriched salt on cardiovascular mortality and medical expenses of elderly men" by Chang et al (1),published in a recent issue of the Journal, reports the beneficial effects of potassium-enriched salt on cardiovascular mortality and medical expenses. With the rapid and persistent increase of health care costs in the United States and elsewhere (2, 3), the article is timely and useful. The results obtained from the relatively large scale (768 experimental subjects and 1213 age-matched control subjects), long-term (for 31 mo) follow-up study, conducted in a veteran's retired home in northern Taiwan, showed that a simple and inexpensive change of dietary habit (salt used in the kitchen) cannot only significantly improve health conditions (cardiovascular disease survivorship) but also provide economic benefits (a 40% reduction per patient in inpatient care) to patients with cardiovascular disease-related conditions.