Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 11, Issue 5 526-531, Copyright © 1992 by American College of Nutrition

JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Salt Step Test: its usage in the diagnosis of salt-sensitive hypertension and in the detection of the salt hypertension threshold

C. H. Espinel
Blood Pressure Center, Metropolitan Washington, DC.

The Salt Step Test was devised to characterize the response of the hypertensive patient to dietary salt. The test has three phases: unrestricted salt, to document hypertension and customary salt intake; restricted salt (2 g/day), to identify the salt-sensitive patient; and stepwise increased salt (each step = 1 g/day), to find the level that precipitates hypertension. The Salt Step Test identified that out of 30 well-established adult hypertensives, 13 were salt-sensitive. It also revealed that in each salt-sensitive patient, a distinct level of salt (range 3-16 g/day) precipitated hypertension, i.e., a Salt Hypertension Threshold. Definition of the Salt Hypertension Threshold should be useful in providing specific, individualized guidelines for dietary salt restriction.