Hypertension is common among people with diabetes, who also have an impaired ability to excrete sodium. Researchers in Australia conducted a study to assess the effect of restricting salt on the effectiveness of the antihypertensive drug losartan in people with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

The patients received either the angiotensin receptor antagonist losartan or placebo. During a two-week period, they were assigned to either low- or regular-sodium diets. Those taking the drug and following the low-sodium diet experienced a drop of 9.7 mmHg systolic and 5.5 mmHg diastolic BP. In the placebo group, there were no changes in blood pressure between the two diets.

The researchers concluded that a low-sodium diet improves the antihypertensive effects of the drug losartan, noting that the reduction in BP was of a similar magnitude to what would be expected if a patient added a second drug to his/her medication regimen.

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Source:  Houlihan CA, Allen TJ, Baxter AL, et al. A low-sodium diet potentiates the effects of losartan in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, April 2002;25:663-671. (Abs.)