For better blood pressure control don't just lower salt, also boost potassium

• A new paper indicates that reducing sodium and increasing potassium intake together can significantly support blood pressure.
• While past research focused on sodium intake alone, newer research shows that the sodium-to-potassium ratio is a stronger predictor of heart health.
• Experts recommend consuming whole foods rich in potassium, such as bananas, potatoes, and spinach, and also reducing sodium intake, to prevent and better manage high blood pressure.

Traditional advice for managing high blood pressure has favored lowering sodium intake; however, new evidence suggests that increasing potassium may significantly support this effort, and the potassium-to-sodium ratio may be a more accurate indicator of cardiovascular health.

A new report, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, makes a case for updating current hypertension-lowering guidelines, recommending that people increase their potassium intake while also reducing their sodium intake to most effectively manage blood pressure.

Considering that most Americans consume around 3,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, which exceeds the 2,300 mg recommended by federal and health guidelines, this advice becomes more pertinent. Most of this intake, approximately 70%, is also from restaurants and processed foods.

Adding to the mix the fact that over 98% of U.S. adults fail to meet daily dietary recommendations for potassium as well, these statistics begin to explain why hypertension has earned the nickname of “silent killer.”

Often progressing over the years without any apparent symptoms, high blood pressure affects about 120 million people in the U.S.

Medical News Today spoke to three experts — Leonard Pianko, MD, board-certified cardiologist in Florida, Yaz Daaboul, MD, a cardiologist leading the Advanced Cardiac Imaging Program at Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and Jen Hernandez, RDN, CSR, LDN, board-certified renal dietitian — to discuss how increasing potassium intake can help better manage blood pressure and whether certain groups of people should be careful about their potassium intake.