Dietary Salt Intake and Vascular Function

Dietary Salt Intake and Vascular Function

The purpose of this study is to look at the effects of high- and low-salt diets on blood vessel function in healthy subjects.

Healthy volunteers will be enrolled in a dietary sodium intervention to examine impact on vascular function.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Healthy male, African-American volunteers
2. 18-35 years of age,
3. No personal or first degree relative with hypertension or diabetes,
4. Blood pressure <130/85 mmHg and > 90/60 at the screening visit,
5. Body mass index <30 kg/m2,
6. No clinically significant abnormalities on screening tests (complete blood count, serum electrolytes, liver enzymes, thyroid stimulating hormone, urinalysis and electrocardiogram).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Alcohol intake >2 beverage/night,
2. Smoking,
3. Recreational drug use,
4. Personal history of coronary disease, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, kidney disease, or illness requiring overnight hospitalization in the past 6 months,
5. Prescription or herbal medication use,
6. Ischemic changes on resting electrocardiogram,
7. Known hypersensitivity to any of the study drugs,
8. Other active medical problems detected by examination or laboratory testing.