How Does Sodium Affect Blood Pressure?

Digestion

Research, such as studies done by The New England Journal of Medicine, show that eating too much sodium, better known as salt, can raise a person's blood pressure.
After a person ingests sodium, it moves to the digestive system to be absorbed into the blood stream.

Normal and Above-Normal Levels of Sodium

If the amount is small, the body uses the sodium to build muscles and nerves and to absorb nutrients. If the amount is too much, more than 1000 mg to 3000 mg a day, the blood vessels must take in more fluid.

Extra Fluid

Extra fluid increases the body's overall blood volume. This, in turn, causes the heart to increase its work load to pump all of that extra blood throughout the body. This increases the body's blood pressure.

Restricted Blood Flow

Sodium also makes some blood vessels called arterioles lessen the amount of blood that can return to the heart. This reduced blood flow increases the pressure on the vessel walls, increasing blood pressure.

Factors

How sensitive a body is to salt varies. Some people can eat large amounts of salt with no problems, and other people may have blood pressure spikes after eating a relatively moderate amount of salt. The reason that there is such a wide range of reactions is due to factors such as age, genetics, weight and high resting heart rate.

Resources

• Salt and Blood Pressure
• The New England Journal of Medicine Study