Too Much Salt? Unhealthy Blood Vessels Changes

Findings of a new study suggest adolescents who consume too much salt have measurable changes in their blood vessels associated with early signs of cardiovascular disease in adults.

Salt. Image credit: Dubravko Sorić/Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)

Arterial stiffness, sometimes called hardening of the arteries, is a known risk factor for heart attack and stroke in adults. Monitors placed on the skin near major arteries in the arm, neck and groin can detect this condition, which indicates increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Recent studies have found increased arterial stiffness in youth with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

The study involved 775 participants recruited from an Ohio children's hospital who were measured for the elasticity or distensibility of their brachial artery (BrachD), located in the upper arm. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was also measured for differences in the speed that blood traveled between their carotid artery in the neck and femoral artery in the groin. The amount of sodium they consumed was measured with self-reported, 3-day diet records.

The results showed that higher average daily sodium intake was associated with lower BrachD and higher PWV after adjusting for age, race, sex, body-mass index and other blood electrolyte levels that could affect readings.

Together, these two readings indicated higher levels of stiffness in both peripheral arteries in the extremities, as well as in central arteries, tied to higher sodium consumption.

Adolescents and young adults have higher-than-recommended amounts of salt in their diet. The study suggests this may translate into changes in the body that put them at higher risk for future heart attack and stroke. (Tasnim News Agency)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Black Holes Hide in Our Cosmic Backyard

Monster black holes sometimes lurk behind gas and dust, hiding from the gaze of most telescopes. But they give themselves away when material they feed on emits high-energy X-rays that NASA's NuSTAR mission can detect.

VST Captures Three-In-One

Two of the sky’s more famous residents share the stage with a lesser-known neighbour in this enormous new three gigapixel image from ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST).

The 2016 TB57 asteroid will come closest to Earth on Oct. 31

2016 TB57 is a small asteroid that will come closest to Earth on Oct. 31 at just beyond five times the distance of the moon.

Massive Lava Waves Detected on Solar System’s Most Volcanically Active Object

Io is the closest thing we have to hell in our Solar System, a Jovian moon that features hundreds of active volcanoes and expansive lakes filled with lava.

GOES-R heads to orbit, will improve weather forecasting

GOES-R, the first of NOAA’s highly advanced geostationary weather satellites, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 6:42 p.m. on November 19.

NuSTAR Helps Find Universe's Brightest Pulsars

There's a new record holder for brightest pulsar ever found -- and astronomers are still trying to figure out how it can shine so brightly.