It's been long known that drinking water regularly delivers many health benefits and new research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered a lesser-known benefit: the suggestion that middle-aged adults can lower their long-term risk for heart failure by simply staying hydrated on a daily basis.
Global surveys have shown that most people do not meet the daily recommended fluid intake, which is 1.6 to 2.1 liters for women and 2 to 3 liters for men, according to the European Society for Cardiology (ESC).
When people become dehydrated, their concentration of serum sodium increases. The body then tries to conserve water, activating processes known to contribute to the development of heart failure.
The study examined whether serum sodium concentration in middle age, as a measure of water drinking habits, predicts the development of heart failure 25 years later. The NIH scientists, based in Bethesda, Maryland, studied 15,792 adults aged 44 to 66 at recruitment and were evaluated over five visits until age 70 to 90.
The researchers also examined the connection between hydration and the thickening of the walls of the heart's main pumping chamber, which often comes before heart failure.
Participants were divided into four groups based on their average serum sodium concentration at study visits one and two. For each sodium group, the researchers then studied the proportion of people who developed heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy at the fifth visit 25 years later.
High serum sodium levels remained significantly associated with heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy after adjusting for other factors related to the development of heart failure (including age and blood pressure).
