Declining consumption of salt has been the key factor in the large fall in the number of people dying from a heart attack or stroke. [s]The Guardian[/s] reports that according to researchers in a study published in the [s]British Medical Journal Open[/s], a 15% drop in average daily consumption of salt, to 8.1g, in England between 2003 and 2011 played an important role in the 42% fewer stroke fatalities and 40% drop in those dying from coronary heart disease. The researchers claim that diminishing levels of salt was ‘an important contributor’ to falls in blood pressure over the eight-year period. Mortality rates from stroke dropped from 134 to 78 (42% down) per 100,000 population, and from 232 to 139 (40% down) per 100,000 population for coronary heart disease.
[link url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/14/research-finds-link-between-drop-in-salt-consumption-and-fall-in-heart-attack-deaths]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
[link url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23558162]BMJO abstract[/link]