The Importance of Population-Wide Sodium Reduction as a Means to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

B lood pressure (BP) -related diseases, specifically, stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and kidney disease, are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States and throughout the world. In the United States, coronary heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of mortality, whereas heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalizations. 1 Concurrently, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease remains high and is escalating. The direct and indirect costs of these conditions are staggering, over 400 billion just for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2009. The human consequences are likewise enormous.