Sodium chloride, or table salt, is the major source for all of the sodium that the average American consumes. While most foods contain some natural sodium, the salt that is added to commercially prepared foods causes most people to consume more sodium than is healthy. When your body digests sodium chloride, the sodium increases your blood pressure temporarily. Long-term overconsumption of sodium from processed foods such as cheese, cured meats, canned and frozen foods, and salty snacks can harm your health permanently.
High Blood Pressure
Your kidneys normally excrete the extra sodium that your body doesn’t need. If you regularly take in too much sodium chloride, kidney function may eventually weaken and be unable to regulate your body’s sodium levels, allowing your blood volume and pressure to rise. When blood pressure stays in an unhealthy range for a long time, the condition cannot be corrected. Chronic high blood pressure requires lifelong medication to mitigate damage to the heart and blood vessels.
Vascular Bleeding
High blood volume and high blood pressure brought on by sodium overconsumption degrade blood vessels over time. The walls of the blood vessels can stiffen and bulge, forming aneurysms, which can bleed slowly or burst. These events can be fatal, or blood can clot. Blood flow can dislodge blood clots, which then may travel through the bloodstream to affect the eyes, extremities and organs. When blood clots partially block blood flow, heart failure may result. This condition reduces the amount of oxygen that circulates in the body, affecting your organ function and energy level.
Heart Attack
Arterial damage caused by high sodium intakes increases your risk for a heart attack. Heart attacks occur when a blood clot inside a blood vessel breaks free and blocks the coronary artery to the heart. This can happen at any time, whether or not you have been eating salty food that day. You may or may not experience warning symptoms, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Extended blockages can cause death.
Complications
Heart attacks can leave your heart’s muscle, valves and nerves impaired. Cardiovascular damage that restricts oxygen flow results in heart failure, which causes swelling in the feet and ankles and reduced exercise tolerance. Arrhythmias, tissue ruptures and leaking valves can all become fatal. To avoid complications from high blood pressure and heart attacks, restrict your use of sodium chloride.
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