TY - JOUR TI - Safety and efficacy of salt substitution with a low sodium-potassium enriched dietary salt in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: A pilot study AU - Bistola, V. AU - Arfaras-Melainis, A. AU - Trogkanis, E. AU - Bakosis, G. AU - Polyzogopoulou, E. AU - Karavidas, I.-N. AU - Ikonomidis, I. AU - Parissis, J. AU - Karavidas, A. JO - Clinical Nutrition ESPEN PY - 2020 VL - 35 TODO - null SP - 90-94 PB - Elsevier Ireland Ltd SN - 2405-4577 TODO - 10.1016/j.clnesp.2019.11.004 TODO - aged; Article; clinical article; controlled study; creatinine blood level; diastolic blood pressure; diet restriction; dietary compliance; estimated glomerular filtration rate; exercise; female; heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; heart left ventricle ejection fraction; heart rate; human; male; New York Heart Association class; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; pilot study; potassium blood level; prospective study; quality of life; salt intake; sodium blood level; systolic blood pressure; administration and dosage; blood; controlled clinical trial (topic); glomerulus filtration rate; heart failure; middle aged; potassium intake; salt intake; sodium restriction, potassium; sodium, Aged; Diet, Sodium-Restricted; Exercise; Female; Glomerular Filtration Rate; Heart Failure; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Pilot Projects; Potassium; Potassium, Dietary; Prospective Studies; Sodium; Sodium Chloride, Dietary TODO - Background and aims: Increased sodium intake is associated with increased risk of decompensation in patients with heart failure. This non-randomized, open-label, controlled study aimed to examine the feasibility, preliminary safety and efficacy of a low sodium-potassium enriched salt substitute compared to regular table salt in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF). Methods: Fifty patients (68% male, NYHA I/II/III 6%/68%/26%, mean age 70 ± 9 years, LVEF 31 ± 5%, median BNP 112 pg/ml) were included. Of these, 30 patients received the salt substitute (maximum consumption of 2 g daily), who were prospectively compared to a control group of 20 age/sex/NYHA class-matched HFREF patients who consumed regular salt (maximum consumption of 2 g daily). Consumption of regular salt was prohibited in the salt substitution group. All patients were followed for 12 weeks. Results: Patient groups did not differ by sex, age, LVEF, NYHA class, 6MWD, and BNP at baseline. In primary safety analysis, no significant differences were detected between groups regarding SBP (p = 0.052), DBP (p = 0.159), HR (p = 0.246), serum potassium (p = 0.579), serum sodium (p = 0.125), and eGFR (p = 0.710) throughout the 12 weeks. Secondary efficacy analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in 6MWD at 12 weeks between the salt substitute and regular salt groups after adjustment for baseline 6MWD (mean difference±SEM, 4.7 ± 2.1 m, F = 4.92, p = 0.031). Conclusions: In this pilot study, a low sodium-potassium enriched salt substitute was found to be safe compared to regular salt in HFREF patients, while it resulted in a small albeit significant improvement in exercise capacity, possibly justifying further investigation with randomized clinical studies. © 2019 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism ER -