Regularly eating potassium-rich foods such as bananas, avocados and salmon can help women improve their overall heart health, according to new data published in European Heart Journal.[1]
“It is well known that high salt consumption is associated with elevated blood pressure and a raised risk of heart attacks and strokes,” corresponding author Liffert Vogt, MD, PhD, a professor at Amsterdam University Medical Centers in the Netherlands, said in a prepared statement from the European Society of Cardiology. “Health advice has focused on limiting salt intake, but this is difficult to achieve when our diets include processed foods. Potassium helps the body excrete more sodium in the urine.”
Vogt et al. focused on nearly 25,000 participants—including more than 13,500 women—between the ages of 40 and 79 years old. All participants were treated in the U.K. from 1993 to 1997. Data came from the EPIC-Norfolk study.
Each participant’s lifestyle habits were tracked using questionnaires. Urine samples and blood sample measurements were also collected.
Over a median follow-up period of 19.5 years, 55% of participants were hospitalized or died due to cardiovascular disease. Individuals who ate a potassium-rich diet faced a 13% lower risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes than those who ate the lowest amount of potassium. The risk reduction was significantly higher among women than men.
In addition, the authors noted, potassium consumption was directly linked to blood pressure in women—more potassium in the diet led to lower blood pressure. This same relationship was not seen in men.
“The results suggest that potassium helps preserve heart health, but that women benefit more than men,” Vogt said in the same statement. “The relationship between potassium and cardiovascular events was the same regardless of salt intake, suggesting that potassium has other ways of protecting the heart on top of increasing sodium excretion.”
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.