Lifestyle support cuts sodium and blood pressure in hypertension
What it found
In 50 people with high blood pressure, a four-month lifestyle support programme lowered dietary sodium intake and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
The programme was a continuous care model that treated patients as active partners in their own care.
What they found
Studies in people
Sodium intake fell
In the experimental group, mean sodium intake dropped from 3.12 to 2.42 after the four-month programme.
Systolic blood pressure fell
Mean systolic blood pressure in the experimental group fell from 144.20 to 128.4 mm Hg.
Diastolic blood pressure fell
Mean diastolic blood pressure in the experimental group fell from 89 to 79.4 mm Hg.
What the authors conclude
“Applying lifestyle intervention in the form of CCM may be recommended to reduce dietary sodium intake and mean systolic and diastolic BP in patients who are hypertensive.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the continuous care model may be recommended to reduce dietary sodium intake and mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients who are hypertensive.
- They note that lifestyle modifications are quite important regardless of the use of antihypertensive drugs.
- They recommend lifestyle intervention in the form of CCM to improve patient adherence to dietary restrictions and, consequently, treatment outcomes in patients who are hypertensive.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether a continuous care model of lifestyle intervention could reduce dietary sodium intake and blood pressure in people with hypertension.
They ran a randomised controlled trial with 50 hypertensive patients split into two groups, an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received a healthy lifestyle programme emphasising physical activity and a heart-healthy diet, delivered as a continuous care model over 4 months. Mean blood pressure and dietary sodium intake were measured at the start and end of the study in both groups.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- The study was small, with only 50 patients, so the results may not apply to everyone with high blood pressure.
- It cannot show whether the blood pressure drops would last beyond the four months of the programme.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The paper
- Title
- Impact of lifestyle interventions on reducing dietary sodium intake and blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A randomized controlled trial
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Shamsi SA, Salehzadeh M, Ghavami H, Asl RG, Vatani KK (2021). Impact of lifestyle interventions on reducing dietary sodium intake and blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A randomized controlled trial. Turk Kardiyoloji Dernegi arsivi. doi:10.5543/tkda.2021.81669PubMed 33709920DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error