Effect of salt reduction diet on blood pressure

Uvod: Visok krvni tlak predstavlja enega večjih zdravstvenih problemov modernega sveta. V hitrem tempu življenja se je težko izogniti dejavnikom tveganja, zaradi česar sta visok krvni tlak in posledično kardiovaskularne bolezni eden vodilnih vzrokov smrti po vsem svetu. Mnogi nefarmakološki ukrepi so se v številnih raziskavah izkazali kot učinkoviti pri zniževanju krvnega tlaka. Namen zaključnega dela je raziskati, kako učinkovit je ukrep zmanjšanega vnosa soli v prehrani za znižanje krvnega tlaka. Metode: V zaključnem delu je bila sistematično pregledana znanstvena literatura na temo vpliva zmanjšanega vnosa soli v prehrani na krvni tlak. Uporabljena je bila deskriptivna metoda dela. Članki so bili iskani v podatkovnih bazah PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library in ScienceDirect s pomočjo iskalne strategije. Analiza podatkov je bila opravljena s pomočjo tematske analize. Rezultati: V končno analizo je bilo vključenih 9 virov. V analizi in sintezi identificiranih virov je kot glavna tema izpostavljen vpliv zmanjšanega vnosa soli v prehrani na krvni tlak, ki je bila oblikovana na podlagi primarnih podtem (I) dieta z zmanjšanim vnosom soli, (II) uporaba nadomestkov soli in (III) intervencije za spremembo vedenja. Dieta z zmanjšanim vnosom soli se je izkazala kot zelo uspešen ukrep zoper visokemu krvnemu tlaku, še posebej v kombinaciji z zdravstveno-vzgojnim izobraževanjem v zvezi s pomenom reguliranja dnevnega vnosa soli, ki se je tudi kot samostojna intervencija izkazala kot uspešna. Prav tako sta se kot uspešen ukrep za zniževanje krvnega tlaka izkazala uporaba nadomestkov soli z manjšim deležem natrija in uporaba pripomočkov za samokontrolo nad dnevnim vnosom soli. Razprava in sklep: Ker število oseb z visokim krvnim tlakom narašča, je pomembno, da je splošna populacija poučena o visokem krvnem tlaku, dejavnikih tveganja ter nefarmakoloških ukrepi zoper njega, saj so nefarmakološki ukrepi učinkoviti in lahko razbremenijo zdravstveni sistem ter zmanjšajo stroške zdravljenja.Introduction: High blood pressure is one of the major health problems of the modern world. In the fast pace of life, it is difficult to avoid risk factors, which makes high blood pressure and consequent cardiovascular diseases one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Many non-pharmacological measures have been shown to be effective in lowering blood pressure in many studies. The purpose of the final work is to research how effective the measure of reduced salt intake in the diet is for lowering blood pressure. Methods: In the diploma thesis, the scientific literature on the impact of reduced dietary salt intake on blood pressure was systematically reviewed. A descriptive method of work was used. Articles were searched in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and ScienceDirect databases using a search strategy. We analyzed the data using the thematic analysis from Thomas & Harden (2008). Results: 9 sources were included in the final analysis. A diet with reduced salt intake has proven to be a very successful measure against high blood pressure, especially in combination with health-education regarding the importance of regulating daily salt intake, which has also proven to be successful as an independent intervention. The use of salt substitutes with a lower proportion of sodium and the use of devices for self-control over daily salt intake have also proven to be successful measures for lowering blood pressure. In the analysis and synthesis of the identified sources, the main topic is the impact of reduced salt intake on blood pressure, which was formed on the basis of the primary subtopics (I) low sodium diet, (II) use of salt substitutes and (III) interventions for behavior change. Discussion and conclusion: As the number of people with high blood pressure is increasing, it is important that the general population is educated about high blood pressure, risk factors and non-pharmacological measures against it, as non-pharmacological measures are effective and can relieve the burden on the health system and reduce treatment costs.