Scientific basis for reducing the salt (sodium) content in food products

Cardiovascular disease, through the strokes and heart attacks that it causes, is now the most common cause of death in developed countries. Large-scale population follow-up studies have identified three major risk factors for cardiovascular disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking. Of these three, high blood pressure is now recognized as the most potent predictor of life expectancy, a finding which life insurance companies have recognized for many years (Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 1961). The risk of cardiovascular disease from high blood pressure is directly related to the height of blood pressure with no evidence of a cut-off point. Conventionally, high blood pressure is designated as a systolic pressure greater than 140mmHg or a diastolic pressure greater than 90 mmHg.