Got resistant hypertension? Maybe you should shun the salt shaker!

Resistant hypertension--elevated high blood pressure despite the use of three or more antihypetensive medications--is fairly common, and frustrating to both patient and physician. A small, randomized crossover trial of 12 such patents has demonstrated the effectiveness of a low-sodium diet. The low sodium diet had only 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the high sodium diet contained 7.5 teaspoons of salt. Systolic and diastolic pressures were significantly lowered by 22.7 mmHg and 9.1 mmHG, respectively, while on the low-sodium diet.