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Moving the Needle on Hypertension: What Knowledge Is Needed?

This review highlights the gaps in knowledge and methodological challenges discussed during the Experimental Biology 2019 expert panel session titled "Moving the Needle on Hypertension: What Knowledge Is Needed?" Hypertension is a critical public health burden. Despite a demonstrated benefit of blood pressure reduction on measures of hypertension-related morbidity and mortality, rates for successful blood pressure control remain low. Dietary sodium reduction has been shown to reduce both systolic blood pressure by approximately 3.2 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.3 mm Hg, depending on baseline blood pressure and degree of sodium reduction. The updated Dietary Reference Intakes for adults released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine include a Chronic Disease Risk Reduction sodium intake level of 2300 mg/d, highlighting the importance of dietary sodium intake in reducing elevated blood pressure and indicating that reducing intakes to this level is expected to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease. The average US daily sodium intake of 3400 mg/d is well above the Chronic Disease Risk Reduction of 2300 mg/d, suggesting that dietary sodium reduction has the potential to significantly improve public health. Although the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report presents intake recommendations based on a systematic, comprehensive, and thorough evaluation of the evidence, several challenges to moving the needle on hypertension remain. Success will require a more advanced understanding of sodium and potassium physiology, as well as development of the tools needed to effectively address existing research gaps and reduce barriers to sodium intake reduction.