European Society of Cardiology — MedicalXPress — 24 August 2021
Staying well hydrated throughout life could reduce the risk of developing heart failure, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. Study author Dr. Natalia Dmitrieva of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH) said: “Our study suggests that maintaining good hydration can prevent or at least slow down the changes within the heart that lead to heart failure. The findings indicate that we need to pay attention to the amount of fluid we consume every day and take action if we find that we drink too little.” Recommendations on daily fluid intake range from 1.6 to 2.1 litres for women and 2 to 3 litres for men, yet worldwide surveys show many people do not meet even the lower ends of these ranges.
Serum sodium is a precise measure of hydration status: when people drink less fluid, the concentration of serum sodium increases, and the body activates processes known to contribute to the development of heart failure. The study examined whether serum sodium concentration in middle age predicts the development of heart failure 25 years later, analysing data from 15,792 adults in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, aged 44 to 66 at recruitment and evaluated over five visits until age 70 to 90. Higher serum sodium concentration in midlife was associated with both heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of the walls of the heart’s main pumping chamber, a precursor to heart failure) 25 years later. Every 1 mmol/l increase in serum sodium concentration in midlife was associated with 1.20 and 1.11 increased odds of developing left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure, respectively. The risks began to increase when serum sodium exceeded 142 mmol/l in midlife — a level within the normal range that would not typically be flagged as abnormal in lab results, but which Dr. Dmitrieva says could be used by physicians during regular physical exams to identify patients whose usual fluid intake should be assessed.