A simple test is designed to determine salt sensitivity. There are three phases of this test, which have been shown as follows
Phase 1
- Consume a absolutely normal diet to establish the lower baseline salt intake.
- Now, measure blood pressure
- Determine urinary salt intake.
Phase 2
- Consume a 2 gms salt-restricted diet for 2 weeks.
- Measure blood pressures
- If DBP<90mm Hg, the patient is salt-sensitive and its urine sample should be collected for 24 hrs.
- After 1 month, if DBP is >90 mm Hg, with a urinary NaCl of <2gms/24 hrs, then patient is salt-resistant.
Phase 3
- Consume a 2 gms salt diet, but add 1 gm of salt/day
- Each1gm increase in salt is consumed for 3 days, blood pressure is measured at each step.
- When DBP is>90 mm Hg, then 24-hr urine is collected
- By this a threshold for salt intake is established.
DBP = Diastolic Blood Pressure.