Salt, Aldosterone and Hypertension

Ever a controversial topic, the role of dietary salt as a contributor to hypertension and its sequelae has received considerable attention in recent years. Furthermore, excessive production of aldosterone, the principal salt-retaining hormone, is now known to be a relatively common contributor to hypertension and to have adverse cardiovascular effects that go above and beyond those caused by elevated blood pressure. Given that these harmful effects appear to be salt-dependent, the need to better understand the impact of salt and aldosterone on cardiovascular health has become a matter of great importance. What organs and tissues are affected? What are the pathogenetic mechanisms? Are genes involved? Are the effects preventable or reversible? Are public health strategies to reduced dietary salt intake effective? This web focus on salt, aldosterone and hypertension includes a selection of high quality papers published during 2013-2015 in the Journal of Human Hypertension which attempt to address these issues.