Central Blood Pressure Responses to Dietary Sodium and Potassium Interventions.

BACKGROUND: To explore how central hemodynamics respond to dietary sodium and potassium interventions, and whether the responses are associated with metabolic traits.

METHODS: We conducted a dietary intervention study including a 7-day low-sodium (51.3 mmol sodium/day) intervention, a 7-day high-sodium (307.8 mmol sodium/day) intervention, and a 7-day high-sodium with potassium supplementation (60.0 mmol potassium/day) intervention among 99 northern Chinese subjects aged 18-60 years. Five metabolic traits included abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, raised blood pressure (BP), and high glucose. Central hemodynamics were measured at baseline and during each intervention.

RESULTS: Central systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), pulse pressure (PP), and augmentation index (AIx@75) significantly decreased during low-sodium intervention, increased during high-sodium intervention, and then decreased during potassium supplementation. We observed potential linear trends toward significance of central SBP and PP responses to low-sodium intervention, and significant linear trends of responses to high-sodium intervention as the number of metabolic traits grows. For example, among participants with 0 or 1, 2 or 3, and 4 or 5 metabolic traits, central SBP responses to high-sodium intervention were 8.8 [95% confidence interval (5.8, 11.8)], 9.3 (7.1, 11.6), and 14.0 (11.6, 16.3) mmHg, respectively (P for trend = 0.009). Significant linear trends of central SBP and DBP responses to potassium supplementation were also observed.

CONCLUSIONS: Central BP and AIx@75 were lowered by sodium reduction and potassium supplementation, and elevated by sodium-loading. The responses of central BP were pronounced among individuals with metabolic traits clustering.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: Trial Number NCT00721721 (The current study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov; https://clinicaltrials.gov).