Effect of One-Week Salt Restriction on Blood Pressure Variability in Hypertensive Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Increased short-term blood pressure (BP) variability on 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) is known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular events. However, very few studies have evaluated the effect of salt restriction on BP variability particularly in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes. This study aimed to investigate the effect of salt restriction on systolic BP (SBP) variability.

Methods And Results: 10 hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes and not receiving antihypertensive agents were enrolled in the study. After admission, all patients received a salt-restricted diet and appropriate anti-diabetic treatments and were followed up for 7 consecutive days using ABPM. After the 7-day treatment, the median [interquartile range (IQR)] coefficient of variation (CV) for diurnal SBP variability changed from day 1 to day 7-13.0 [10.8 to 16.8] % to 13.3 [9.1 to 18.9] % (P = 0.959)--and the median [IQR] change between days 1 and 7 was -0.3 [-3.2 to 2.9] %. In addition, CV for BP variability and circadian rhythm of BP varied greatly on a day-by-day basis for 7 days, compared to mean BP values. Interestingly, increased SBP variability was associated with greater day-by-day changes in circadian rhythm of BP.

Conclusions: Salt restriction during 7-day hospitalization led to a -0.3 [-3.2 to 2.9] (median [IQR]) % change from baseline in CV for diurnal SBP variability in 10 hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes not receiving antihypertensive agents.

Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000016243.