Can Salt Raise Your Blood Pressure?

Salt is in almost everything we eat, ranging from canned soups and burgers to chips and bagels. And there’s a chance you routinely sprinkle your meal with table salt to add flavor.

But does salt raise blood pressure?

It can. Too much salt in your diet can put extra pressure on your blood vessels and heart, primarily due to sodium — one of the two building blocks of salt. That’s why the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day for most adults.

Cardiologist Luke Laffin, MD, explains how salt can increase your blood pressure and offers tips to lower your salt intake.

How does salt affect blood pressure?

Salt can increase your blood pressure (BP) by causing your body to:

• Retain water: Your body holds on to more water to help balance the amount of sodium in your blood. This puts more pressure on your blood vessels, which can raise your blood pressure.
• Increase blood volume: More blood in your system makes your heart pump harder and puts more pressure on your blood vessels. Over time, this can cause damage to your blood vessels.
• Disrupt certain hormones: Too much salt can impact certain hormones that regulate your blood pressure and kidney function. Salt can also increase how your stress hormones respond, which can increase your blood pressure.
• Overwork your kidneys: Excess sodium is removed through your kidneys. If your kidneys have to work overtime, it can cause fluid buildup and lead to an increase in blood pressure.

“If you indulge in some pizza or a cheeseburger, don’t be surprised if your blood pressure is higher later that day,” illustrates Dr. Laffin.

Can salt cause high blood pressure?

Over time, excessive salt intake may lead to high blood pressure (hypertension). This can stiffen and narrow blood vessels, decreasing blood and oxygen flow to key organs.

When that happens, your heart tries harder to pump blood throughout your body, which further increases blood pressure.

“Elevated blood pressure, particularly over a long period of time, puts an incredible strain on the heart,” says Dr. Laffin.

High blood pressure can enlarge your heart’s left pumping chamber and weaken the heart muscle (potentially leading to heart failure). Unchecked hypertension can also damage the artery walls, which can lead to heart disease and, potentially, heart attack or stroke.

But it’s important to know that salt affects people — and their blood pressure — differently.

“Some people can consume sodium with no effect on their blood pressure,” clarifies Dr. Laffin. “But for others who are ‘salt sensitive,’ even a slight increase in sodium intake wreaks havoc on their kidneys’ ability to regulate fluid and increases blood pressure.”

Salt sensitivity is most prevalent among people who are:

• Middle-aged or elderly
• Have overweight or obesity
• Black

How to lower salt intake for hypertension

So, how can you cut back on how much salt you consume? Dr. Laffin offers the following tips:

• Eat a low-sodium diet, like the DASH diet.
• Track your sodium consumption in the foods you eat.
• Limit salty foods, like bacon, frozen dinners and potato chips.
• Make meals at home so you can control how much salt you use.
• Flavor food with other seasonings, like basil or ginger.
• Eat foods high in potassium, like leafy greens, beans and tomatoes.

Even with salt restriction and lifestyle changes like exercise, your blood pressure may remain elevated, Dr. Laffin notes.

In that case, medications may be needed to lower your blood pressure. Examples of BP-lowering medications include:

• Diuretics: Also known as water pills, this type of medication blocks sodium uptake in the kidneys. When you start taking a diuretic, you may notice more frequent urination. But if you maintain a low-sodium diet, you shouldn’t need to urinate more.
• ACE inhibitors or ARBs: These drugs help relax your blood vessels to keep your blood pressure from rising.

Key takeaways

Watching your salt intake can help keep your heart healthy. And if you have questions about your blood pressure, don’t hesitate to talk to your healthcare provider.

“Working with your doctor to ensure that your salt intake isn’t raising your blood pressure and impacting your heart and kidneys can have a dramatic impact on your health and longevity,” concludes Dr. Laffin.