title: Dietary sodium loading in normotensive healthy volunteers does not increase arterial vascular reactivity or blood pressure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies of dietary sodium on vascular function and blood pressure in normotensive volunteers have shown conflicting results. There are very limited data available on the effect of chronic sodium loading from a low-sodium diet to a high-sodium diet on vascular function and blood pressure in normotensive volunteers.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effect of modifying dietary sodium intake on arterial function and surrogate markers of arterial remodelling in normal healthy volunteers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three normotensive volunteers met the inclusion criteria. After a 2 week run-in with a low-sodium diet (60 mmol/day), the participants maintained their low-sodium diets and were randomly assigned to receive sequentially one of three interventions for 4 weeks, with a 2 week washout between interventions: sodium-free tomato juice (A), tomato juice containing 90 mmol Na (B) and tomato juice containing 140 mmol Na (C). The outcomes measured were changes in pulse wave velocity (PWV), systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no difference in PWV between interventions (B-A 0.00 m/s, 95% CI: -0.30, 0.31 m/s; C-A 0.01 m/s, 95% CI: -0.38, 0.40 m/s). There was also no change in pulse wave analysis, systolic or diastolic blood pressure between interventions. There was an appropriate increase in urinary sodium excretion in the added sodium interventions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary salt loading did not produce significant increases in PWV and blood pressure in normotensive subjects with systolic blood pressure <130 mmHg. The lack of an observed effect supports Guyton's pressure-natriuresis hypothesis with appropriate renal excretion of the excess sodium load.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine             Preventive and Social Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Alwyn S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Macginley
authors.forename: John B W
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Schollum
authors.forename: Sheila M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Wayne H F
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.forename: Jim I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000187:drug effects*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012982:Sodium, Dietary