Heart disease

Runners

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which triples your risk of developing heart disease, whatever your age.

What is heart disease?
The term 'heart disease' is used to describe a number of conditions. Two of the most commonly used terms are coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused when the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, become narrower because of the build-up of fatty deposits inside them. This 'furring up' of the arteries is called atherosclerosis.

In time the artery may become so narrow that not enough blood gets through to the heart. This means the heart muscle doesn't get all the oxygen it needs, which is called angina. The pain of angina happens when the heart muscle gets short of oxygen.

If the narrowed artery becomes blocked by a blood clot, this causes a heart attack.

Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes all the diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including CHD, heart failure and stroke. CVD causes nearly 238,000 deaths every year in the UK. More than one in three people (39%) die from CVD.

There are a number of things that increase the risk of developing heart disease, including:

  • high blood pressure
  • smoking
  • high cholesterol levels
  • not being physically active
  • being overweight
  • diabetes

Why does high blood pressure increase the risk of heart disease?
High blood pressure can increase the risk of heart disease in a number of different ways.

It can damage the heart because the extra pressure means the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body. This damage can lead to heart failure and increase the risk of having a heart attack.

High blood pressure also increases the risk of atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits are laid down inside the arteries. This makes the blood vessels narrower and stiffer, which can raise blood pressure further and increase the risk of having a heart attack.

Reducing your blood pressure reduces the risk of developing heart disease, even if your blood pressure is already within the normal range. Evidence shows that cutting down on salt can reduce blood pressure, especially as part of a healthy diet including plenty of fruit and vegetables.

See Hidden salt to find out what foods are high in salt.

Visit the British Heart Foundation site for more information on heart disease.