Sodium is a mineral your body needs in order to carry out essential functions and be healthy. However, because sodium is directly related to your heart rhythm, too much intake can lead to chronic health problems. You should control and limit your sodium intake to maintain a healthy heart.
Sodium
Sodium is an electrolyte, meaning it breaks down into electrically charged particles, called ions, which your body uses to conduct electricity. Since your body needs electrolytes to send impulses and signals, as well as to regulate muscle contractions, you need to have some sodium in your diet. However, too much sodium can negatively affect your heart rhythms as well by increasing your blood pressure.
Sodium and Muscle Function
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, sodium directly impacts muscle function -- and your heart is a muscle. While sodium is concentrated outside of your cells, potassium is concentrated inside. These concentrations create a gradient called the membrane potential, which is controlled by passing sodium or potassium ions across your cells' membranes to balance out concentrations. This membrane potential is an essential part of muscle contractions and heart function.
Hyponatremia
Too little sodium in your body can disrupt the membrane potential, causing your muscles to function incorrectly. This can cause muscle cramping, but more seriously, it can also lead to heart arrhythmias, or an irregular heartbeat. A deficiency of sodium is called hyponatremia, and it can be caused by sweating and dehydration, among other reasons. To prevent a deficiency of sodium, the average adult needs about 1.4 g of the mineral daily.
Hypertension
Sodium also controls your blood volume, which influences your blood pressure. This means that too much sodium can lead to hypertension, or high blood pressure. According to the Mayo Clinic, when your blood volume rises, this increases the resistance to blood flow in your arteries. This raises your blood pressure, so your heart rhythm has to increase in order to keep your blood moving. Chronic hypertension drastically increases your risk of heart attacks and strokes, so you should limit your intake of sodium to fewer than 2.3 g daily.
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