Awareness of salt restriction and actual salt intake in hypertensive patients at a hypertension clinic and general clinic.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate awareness of salt restriction and actual salt intake in hypertensive patients at a hypertension clinic and general clinic. Subjects included 330 patients, with a mean age of 69±12 years, who were followed at a hypertension clinic and 200 patients, with a mean age of 67±11 years, who were followed at a general clinic. We estimated 24-h salt excretion using spot urine samples and checked the awareness of salt intake using a self-description questionnaire. The number of antihypertensive drugs available at the hypertension clinic was significantly higher than that at the general clinic (2.2±1.1 versus 1.6±0.9, p<0.01); however, no significant difference was observed in office systolic blood pressure between the two groups. Urinary salt excretion was significantly lower at the hypertension clinic than at the general clinic (8.7±2.5 versus 9.3±2.5 g/d, p<0.01). The rate of achievement of salt intake<6 g/d was 15% at the hypertension clinic and 6% at the general clinic. In patients with excessive salt intake (≥10 g/d), 28% of patients at the hypertensive clinic and 23% at the general clinic thought that their salt intake was low. Urinary salt excretion in hypertensive patients was lower at a hypertensive clinic than at a general clinic. This may be due to the professional nutritional guidance at the hypertension clinic. However, most patients could not comply with the guidelines, and the awareness of salt restriction in patients with excessive salt intake was low.