Cardiologist told me to eat more salt! Anyone else...
emancipateurself
Posts: 175 Member
Hey there so just went through some major health scares....always been a fainter all my life and had dizzy spells but recently went down three times well visiting someone in the hospital....the right place to be right?
So went through stress test, ct scans and eventually an angiogram....now on three medications. The weird thing is though my resting heart rate is in the 40's.
Now I am not a supreme athelete or anything however I am in the gym 6 days a week and have kept my sodium to under 2500mg a day for over two years now as everyone says it's the best thing to do.
Now this cardiologist is telling me that I need to eat at least 4grams of sodium a day as per my heart rate issues/fainting issues. I also have discovered I have coronary artery disease thus the three new medications. Medications do not include a beta blocker however because of my low heart rate....
I have lost over 150 pounds and the cardiologists tell me this saved my life.
The issue i am having here is the increase in sodium. This theory is freaking me out. I know I will see an increase on the scale and I am a big researcher and can not seem to find alot of research on this theory on the web.
Seeking out anyone on MFP that knows anything about this.
I will trust my doctors and do what they say but the theory does not make sence to me.
Anyone?
So went through stress test, ct scans and eventually an angiogram....now on three medications. The weird thing is though my resting heart rate is in the 40's.
Now I am not a supreme athelete or anything however I am in the gym 6 days a week and have kept my sodium to under 2500mg a day for over two years now as everyone says it's the best thing to do.
Now this cardiologist is telling me that I need to eat at least 4grams of sodium a day as per my heart rate issues/fainting issues. I also have discovered I have coronary artery disease thus the three new medications. Medications do not include a beta blocker however because of my low heart rate....
I have lost over 150 pounds and the cardiologists tell me this saved my life.
The issue i am having here is the increase in sodium. This theory is freaking me out. I know I will see an increase on the scale and I am a big researcher and can not seem to find alot of research on this theory on the web.
Seeking out anyone on MFP that knows anything about this.
I will trust my doctors and do what they say but the theory does not make sence to me.
Anyone?
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Replies
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salt.... sodium is a mineral.... you kinda need it to regulate muscle contractions.
including your heart0 -
p.s. having normal sodium levels will not stop you from losing weight.
also, make sure your getting enough calcium, potassium and magnesium... as these also effect your heart. Having too little or too much can cause major issues.0 -
My sodium levels are in the normal range though already, all my blood work is perfect. So makes no sence to me.0
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This is not the place to seek a second opinion on a severe medical issue. I recommend going to another specialist for a second opinion if you have concerns about what the first has told you.2
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My sodium levels are in the normal range though already, all my blood work is perfect. So makes no sence to me.
here is a few things you can do.
1. go back to the cardio and sit down with your blood works and ask why does he suggest the increase. ASK FOR DETAILS.
- - Like do you have an abnormal ekg that suggests lack of sodium intake?
- - or is there a test that is showing issues with your heart?
2. Get a second opinion with another cardio.
3. Take advice, bump up sodium to levels he/she wants and then take another heart test in a few weeks to see if issue is alleviated
None of this sodium stuff will cause weight gain or lack of weight loss.0 -
Trust me already doing that just curious as to if anyone else has been told this. thanks though.0
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My sodium levels are in the normal range though already, all my blood work is perfect. So makes no sence to me.
mine are all normal too - but a heart doc told me to eat more salt also - he was concerned about my resting heart rate of 42 bpm. I have no medical issues at all...but I was getting dizzy spells (that were caused by fluid in my ears, as it turns out) and that is why I ended up with the heart doc in the ER one night.
I find no benefit to adding more salt - and no negative either as far as weight loss is concerned. Once we figured out dizzy was caused by my inner ear, however, I stopped intentionally adding salt beyond what I would normally eat.0 -
Also... sodium will increase your low blood pressure. which is causing your dizziness. It makes water stay in your blood stream, increasing the pressure.
what conditions were stated that you have?0 -
My teenage daughter also passes out. She has NCS and POTS. She has to have a high salt diet also per her cardiologist. She drinks gatoraide, pickles, prezels etc. But she has not put on any weight. Good luck!!0
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I used to get dizzy spells too, I was told I needed more salt!0
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Medications do not include a beta blocker however because of my low heart rate.
beta blockers are for high blood pressure and for those who have tachycardia... not brachycardia like you have0 -
I was told to eat more salt since I'm on a low-carb diet. Eating low-carb has a diuretic effect so you pee out a lot of your sodium.
Also, salt being bad for your heart is one of those things that still up for debate just like saturated fats and dietary cholesterol. Some research says they're bad for you and then other research says they're mistaken and they're not actually bad for you. /shrug who knows.0 -
This is not the place to seek a second opinion on a severe medical issue. I recommend going to another specialist for a second opinion if you have concerns about what the first has told you.
^^^^
What this person said. This is kinda off topic, but my history teacher in high school told me a form of torture and eventual death was to eliminate sodium from a prisoners diet. The prisoner would be fed water and food with absolutely no salt. Eventually a person will grow very weak and die. Too much salt and it can lead to serious health problems and not enough salt also leads to serious health problems.1 -
I also have dizzy spells and low blood pressure and feel better when I eat more salt (which I have to make an extra effort to do bc I don't eat much processed food). Did he say the salt was to get your blood pressure up? I also recently read that low dietary sodium is associated with heart disease just like high sodium is. Will see if I can find the article.
http://understandnutrition.com/2013/05/17/consuming-too-much-or-too-little-salt-could-increase-risk-of-heart-disease/0 -
I also have discovered I have coronary artery disease thus the three new medications.
CAD is a general term...
did they find a blockage that you had a stent placed while the angiogram was going on? thus you were placed on plavix, a statin and some other drug?
or what was the reason they said you have CAD?0 -
My husband was told by his doctor to eat more salt because he has a seizure condition and when he has a seizure, one of the triggers is low sodium. Knock on wood, he's been seizure-free for a record of 19 months!
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Think of it this way, your body uses EXCESS salt in such a way that you retain water....
eating salt does not make you retain water, eating a normal amount of salt means the salt is regulated and used as it should be.
but when you eat excess salt...then you retain water...
if your doctor is telling you to eat more salt, then it SHOULD be used by your body to regulate what he's assuming the problem is.
in theory, if you start retaining water, then you may want to go back and reassess the issue with your doctor...
none of this is medical advice...you DO need to trust your specialists.
but just remember people who eat EXCESS salt tend to retain....and if you need more salt it wouldn't be excess would it?1 -
Also... sodium will increase your low blood pressure. which is causing your dizziness. It makes water stay in your blood stream, increasing the pressure.
what conditions were stated that you have?
Yeah it's all new to me..basically I had an angio that showed three 40 percent narrowings in my arteries and really really bad family history of heart disease. I have high blood pressure as well thus the new meds. I dunno what way is up right now. Just seems like weird theory to me as I have high blood pressure but perfect sodium/post levels....I'll figure it out. Thanks for your help/sugesstions.0 -
You won't necessarily see an increase in weight. If your doc says you need sodium, you need it. Many people with heart issues do require "more" sodium, not less. Don't be concerned about your weight. Any your have will be temporary and will not be fat. But not everyone experiences any weight gain at all with more sodium.0
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I actually just got off the phone with my doctor and he recommended that I eat more sea salt as well. I'd been having some low blood pressure issues and I don't eat really any processed food, so unless I add it to my food, I'm getting about 1000mg or less a day, which apparently isn't enough to keep me from feeling dizzy if I forget to add salt.
Obviously it depends on what your intake is, but salt is extremely vital to your body functioning.
Edit: And I seem to lose weight just fine eating salt.0 -
This is not the place to seek a second opinion on a severe medical issue. I recommend going to another specialist for a second opinion if you have concerns about what the first has told you.
^^^^
What this person said. This is kinda off topic, but my history teacher in high school told me a form of torture and eventual death was to eliminate sodium from a prisoners diet. The prisoner would be fed water and food with absolutely no salt. Eventually a person will grow very weak and die. Too much salt and it can lead to serious health problems and not enough salt also leads to serious health problems.
Yeah I'm not seeking medical advice just seeking to see if anyone else has been told this. I am not a complete idiot looking for medical advice on MFP or anything...lol...but that is an interesting thing your history teacher told ya :-)0 -
You won't necessarily see an increase in weight. If your doc says you need sodium, you need it. Many people with heart issues do require "more" sodium, not less. Don't be concerned about your weight. Any your have will be temporary and will not be fat. But not everyone experiences any weight gain at all with more sodium.
Yes, please don't let your fear of gaining 1-2 lbs of water weight (if that) get in the way of an optimally functioning heart...0 -
You won't necessarily see an increase in weight. If your doc says you need sodium, you need it. Many people with heart issues do require "more" sodium, not less. Don't be concerned about your weight. Any your have will be temporary and will not be fat. But not everyone experiences any weight gain at all with more sodium.
Yes, please don't let your fear of gaining 1-2 lbs of water weight (if that) get in the way of an optimally functioning heart...
I won't!!!! Trust me staying alive is more important to me then losing 2 pounds lol....just curious about the theory.0 -
This is not the place to seek a second opinion on a severe medical issue. I recommend going to another specialist for a second opinion if you have concerns about what the first has told you.
She's here obviously asking if somebody has life experience with this issue, not for a second medical opinion. No need to play Captain Obvious.2 -
LUV!This is not the place to seek a second opinion on a severe medical issue. I recommend going to another specialist for a second opinion if you have concerns about what the first has told you.
She's here obviously asking if somebody has life experience with this issue, not for a second medical opinion. No need to play Captain Obvious.0 -
There's not a one size fits all answer to this, especially without seeing your ecg's etc but one thought is that you may have something called prolonged QT syndrome. This is often a genetic abnormality which can lead to bradycardia (amongst other nastier arrhythmias). On a simple level increasing your sodium will help control this and also help balance out your other electrolytes.
It could also be other conditions but it sounds like you just want to know how it works. At least I assume that's what you mean when you say "theory".0 -
Yeah it's all new to me..basically I had an angio that showed three 40 percent narrowings in my arteries and really really bad family history of heart disease. I have high blood pressure as well thus the new meds. I dunno what way is up right now. Just seems like weird theory to me as I have high blood pressure but perfect sodium/post levels....I'll figure it out. Thanks for your help/sugesstions.
call your doctor tomorrow
please make sure you double check with your MD that he wants you to *increase* your Na intake. if you have coronary artery disease, AND high blood pressure, a ton of salt is only going to make your pressure worse. Your doc is not prescribing it as a diuretic as others have suggested- there are more effective and safer meds for that. Your low heart rate might be related to sick sinus syndrome/bradycardia, stemming from loss of normal function of your natural heart pace makers (sometimes due to coronary artery obstruction). This is advanced heart disease, and something you need to be very careful about.
tldr- CALL your cardiologist tomorrow. I hate giving "serious" medical advice on the internet, but you gotta make sure you're not hurting yourself0 -
Dont be scared...you will feel so much better. My usual advice is to say where salt goes water follows, but since you have cardiac issues this wouldnt apply. Follow the advice and follow up as needed.
Enjoy your salt party...start looking for seasonings and have fun.0 -
Yeah it's all new to me..basically I had an angio that showed three 40 percent narrowings in my arteries and really really bad family history of heart disease. I have high blood pressure as well thus the new meds. I dunno what way is up right now. Just seems like weird theory to me as I have high blood pressure but perfect sodium/post levels....I'll figure it out. Thanks for your help/sugesstions.
call your doctor tomorrow
please make sure you double check with your MD that he wants you to *increase* your Na intake. if you have coronary artery disease, AND high blood pressure, a ton of salt is only going to make your pressure worse. Your doc is not prescribing it as a diuretic as others have suggested- there are more effective and safer meds for that. Your low heart rate might be related to sick sinus syndrome/bradycardia, stemming from loss of normal function of your natural heart pace makers (sometimes due to coronary artery obstruction). This is advanced heart disease, and something you need to be very careful about.
tldr- CALL your cardiologist tomorrow. I hate giving "serious" medical advice on the internet, but you gotta make sure you're not hurting yourself
no one here said it was prescribed as a diuretic... you might want to read and pay attention since everyone here was stating it was to retain water. That would be the exact opposite of a diuretic.
bradycardia.... means slow heart beat. it isnt a illness. just medical terminology to say slow heart beat. secondly. a sinus infection would cause tachycardia since your breathing is reduced, lower o2 is in blood stream and your heart has to beat faster to maintain distribution of O2 to cells.
Didyou even read? she doesnt have coronary artery obstruction. She has a 40% occlusion... Where are you getting this crap from?1 -
Yeah it's all new to me..basically I had an angio that showed three 40 percent narrowings in my arteries and really really bad family history of heart disease. I have high blood pressure as well thus the new meds. I dunno what way is up right now. Just seems like weird theory to me as I have high blood pressure but perfect sodium/post levels....I'll figure it out. Thanks for your help/sugesstions.
call your doctor tomorrow
please make sure you double check with your MD that he wants you to *increase* your Na intake. if you have coronary artery disease, AND high blood pressure, a ton of salt is only going to make your pressure worse. Your doc is not prescribing it as a diuretic as others have suggested- there are more effective and safer meds for that. Your low heart rate might be related to sick sinus syndrome/bradycardia, stemming from loss of normal function of your natural heart pace makers (sometimes due to coronary artery obstruction). This is advanced heart disease, and something you need to be very careful about.
tldr- CALL your cardiologist tomorrow. I hate giving "serious" medical advice on the internet, but you gotta make sure you're not hurting yourself
bradycardia.... means slow heart beat. it isnt a illness. just medical terminology to say slow heart beat. secondly. a sinus infection would cause tachycardia since your breathing is reduced, lower o2 is in blood stream and your heart has to beat faster to maintain distribution of O2 to cells.
Didyou even read? she doesnt have coronary artery obstruction. She has a 40% occlusion... Where are you getting this crap from?
Sick sinus syndrome refers to the sinus node of the heart. Also, 40% occlusion means less O2 is getting to myocardial tissue.0
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