Drinking water helps prevent heart attacks

Recent research presented at the Parliament of the European Society of Cardiology indicates that maintaining good hydration throughout life can protect us against the development of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases at a later date. Older. "Our results specify that we need to pay attention to the amount of fluid we drink every day and take achievement if we find that we drink very little," says Natalia Dmitrieva, author of the study and academic at the National Institute of Health. Bethesda. UK). State)..

Recommendations for daily water consumption

Experts recommend drinking 1.6-2.1 liters of water a day for women and 2-3 liters for men. However, and as a 2015 study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found, many people around the world do not even reach the lower limits of these intervals .

 

The authors used the level of sodium in the blood as a measure of hydration: when you drink a little fluid, this concentration increases. In order to remember as much water as possible, in these situations the body activates processes that are known to contribute to the development of heart failure. "At first glance, we can expect the levels of hydration and sodium in the blood to vary every day, depending on what we drink," says Dmitrieva. However, it seems that this value remains stable for a short period of time, which is probably related to the usual consumption of liquids .

The study assessed whether blood sodium levels as a measure of hydration patterns were able to predict the progress of heart failure 25 years later. The researchers also looked at the link between hydration and thickening of the walls of the main cardiac pumping chamber (left ventricle), called left ventricular hypertrophy, which is a precursor to the diagnosis of heart failure .

The analysis was performed on 15,792 adults aged between 44 and 66 at the time of enrollment and was evaluated at five visits up to the age of 70 to 90 years. Participants stood divided into four groups based on their average sodium concentration. For each sodium group, the researchers looked at the proportion of people who developed heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy at the fifth visit (25 years later) .

The results showed that higher levels of sodium in the blood in middle age were associated with an increased risk of heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy 25 years later. In addition, this association remained after adjustment for other influences related to the development of heart disappointment: age, blood pressure, kidney function, blood cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index, sex and smoking. Each increase of 1 micromole per liter of blood sodium concentration (mmol / L) in middle age was associated with an increase of 1.20 and 1.11 in the risk of developing left ventricular hypertrophy and failure, respectively cardiac. . , 25 years later.

In addition, the risks of left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure between the ages of 70 and 90 began to increase when serum blood levels exceeded 142 mmol / L at mean age.

 The results propose that good hydration throughout life can reduce the risk of developing left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure. In addition, our finding that serum sodium above 142 mmol / L increases the risk of adverse effects on the sentiment can help identify people who could benefit from an assessment of their hydration level, "explains the author. This sodium level is within the normal choice. and would not be labeled as abnormal in laboratory test results, but doctors may use it throughout regular physical exams to identify people whose regular fluid intake needs to be checked.