Cardiovascular deaths have plummeted over the past decade because people have reduced their salt intake, according to an academic study.

A 15 per cent fall in the amount of salt people were consuming was likely to be an "important contributor" to the 40 per cent fall in heart disease and strokes in England between 2003 and 2011, said the authors of a report published in the British Medical Journal yesterday (April 14).

However, average salt intake was still too high, with more than 70 per cent of adults eating more than the recommended 6g a day, warned the authors from the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, and the School of Medicines and Dentistry at Queen Mary University of London.

Although daily salt consumption fell 15 per cent between 2003 and 2011, over 70 per cent of adults are still eating more than the recommended 6g a day	More on public health Pharmacies could be given go-ahead to sell NHS vitamins Use pharmacy to reduce pressure on A&E, NHS Alliance urges Pharmacy needs to help reduce unwanted pregnancies, warns Nice
	Despite hailing a 1.4g reduction as "considerable progress", the authors said average daily salt intake was still 35 per cent higher than recommended, based on a survey of almost 3,000 people. A "much greater effort" was needed to curb the concentration of salt in processed foods – which account for 80 per cent of the daily intake – in order to reduce strokes and heart disease further, they said.

Other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as cholesterol levels and smoking had also decreased since nationwide initiatives to curb the population's salt intake were launched in 2003, the authors said.

The fall in average blood pressure, once these contributing factors and the effects of blood pressure-lowering drugs had been taken into account, suggested that the main cause of the reduction in deaths was likely to be lower salt intake, they concluded.

CVD is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with unhealthy diets and lifestyles responsible for around 80 per cent of cases, the authors said. Blood pressure is a major risk factor for CVD, accounting for 62 per cent of all strokes and 49 per cent of ischaemic heart disease, they added.

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