Sodium (Na+) restriction in heart failure

Sodium (Na+) restriction in heart failure is one of the important steps in the management of heart failure. Depending on the stage of the heart failure, sodium (Na+) restriction can give a good out come. Patients In mild heart failure (NYHA stage 1) can have a complete symptomatic improvement with sodium (Na+) restriction. Average sodium consumption is 6-10 gram (as sodium chloride) per day. This sdium comes from salt added to food and from salty food (fast food). 50% sodium restriction in heart failure can be achieved by avoiding salty food consumption and 75% sodium restriction can be achieved by further reduction of table salt. If the heart failure is severe (NYHA stage 3 and 4), intake of NaCl should be reduced to 1 g/d. to achieve a reasonable sodium restriction, food containing high sodium level (milk, cheese, bread, cereals, canned vegetables and soups, some salted cuts of meat, spinach, celery, and beets) should be reduced. If the patient finds it difficult to restrict sodium, sodium chloride substitutes can be used. Potassium chloride, maltodextrin and potassium bitartrate are some of the substitutes available for sodium chloride. But these are at the research level. Autolysed yeast can be used to preserve the salty taste of the food while sodium restriction is applied.