Cardiovascular effects of dietary salt intake in aged healthy cats: a 2-year prospective randomized, blinded, and controlled study

PLoS One. 2014 Jun 18;9(6):e97862. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097862. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

High salt dry expanded diets are commercially available for cats to increase water intake and urine volume, as part of the prevention or treatment of naturally occurring urinary stone formation (calcium oxalates and struvites). However, chronic high salt intake may have potential cardiovascular adverse effects in both humans, especially in aging individuals, and several animal models. The objective of this prospective, randomized, blinded, and controlled study was to assess the long-term cardiovascular effects of high salt intake in healthy aged cats. Twenty healthy neutered cats (10.1 ± 2.4 years) were randomly allocated into 2 matched groups. One group was fed a high salt diet (3.1 g/Mcal sodium, 5.5 g/Mcal chloride) and the other group a control diet of same composition except for salt content (1.0 g/Mcal sodium, 2.2 g/Mcal chloride). Clinical examination, systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure measurements, standard transthoracic echocardiography and conventional Doppler examinations were repeatedly performed on non-sedated cats by trained observers before and over 24 months after diet implementation. Radial and longitudinal velocities of the left ventricular free wall and the interventricular septum were also assessed in systole and diastole using 2-dimensional color tissue Doppler imaging. Statistics were performed using a general linear model. No significant effect of dietary salt intake was observed on systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure values. Out of the 33 tested imaging variables, the only one affected by dietary salt intake was the radial early on late diastolic velocity ratio assessed in the endocardium of the left ventricular free wall, statistically lower in the high salt diet group at 12 months only (P = 0.044). In conclusion, in this study involving healthy aged cats, chronic high dietary salt intake was not associated with an increased risk of systemic arterial hypertension and myocardial dysfunction, as observed in some elderly people, salt-sensitive patients and animal models.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Blood Flow Velocity / drug effects*
  • Blood Flow Velocity / physiology
  • Blood Pressure / drug effects*
  • Blood Pressure / physiology
  • Cats
  • Diastole
  • Echocardiography
  • Female
  • Heart / drug effects*
  • Heart / physiology
  • Male
  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary / pharmacology*
  • Systole
  • Ventricular Function, Left / drug effects*
  • Ventricular Function, Left / physiology

Substances

  • Sodium Chloride, Dietary

Grants and funding

Royal Canin SAS, a petfood company, has sponsored financially this study. Vincent Biourge is a full time employee of Royal Canin, SAS. Vincent Biourge was involved in the study design, in designing and providing the diets, in the preparation of the manuscript and in the decision to publish. He was not involved in data collection and all other investigators were blinded to the dietary treatments.