Dietary Patterns for the Treatment of Arterial Hypertension in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to the commonly occurring disorder comprising central obesity, systemic hypertension (HTN), insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia specifically hypertriglyceridemia, and reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL). The prevalence of MetS worldwide ranges from 20% to 25% in the adult population and 0% to 19.2% in children, but it can reach almost 80% in type 2 diabetes patients. Increased blood pressure (BP) is considered an important component of MetS. More than 85% of those with MetS, even in the absence of diabetes mellitus (DM), have elevated BP or HTN. Dietary patterns, such as Mediterranean-style, dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH), low-carbohydrate, and low-fat diets, can improve insulin resistance and MetS. Dietary patterns high in fruit and vegetable content were generally found to be associated with a lower prevalence of MetS. Evidence reinforces that DASH, Nordic diet, and Mediterranean diet (MD) significantly lowered systolic BP and diastolic BP by 4.26 and 2.38 mm Hg, respectively. Therefore, we aim to review the available evidence on the effect of dietary patterns on the treatment of HTN in patients with MetS

The Effect of Dietary Sodium Restriction on Vascular Stiffness in Hypertension

Increased salt consumption is believed to induce high blood pressure (BP)-mediated organ damage, although it is not yet clear whether it reflects a generalized micro- and macrovascular malfunction independent of BP. Exceeding dietary sodium intake is acknowledged to be the main modifiable environmental risk factor for cardiovascular events that accounts for an increase in blood pressure and induces hypertension (HTN)-related target organ damage. Arterial stiffness is well known as an independent cardiovascular risk factor, and sodium intake may be a determinant of arterial stiffness. Even so, the studies that investigated the effect of dietary sodium reduction intake on arterial stiffness in humans provided inconclusive results. Therefore, we aim to perform a review of the available evidence of salt restriction and arterial stiffness and its impact on hypertensive patients