The Heart Failure Association of the ESC published a clinical consensus statement on dietary sodium and fluid intake in patients with acute and chronic HF.

Traditional recommendations on sodium and fluid intake in patients with HF are mainly based on studies and physiological investigations which were conducted prior to the introduction of contemporary guideline-recommended medical therapies for HF. The 2021 ESC HF guidelines recommend the avoidance of excess salt intake in all patients with HF, and restricted fluid intake in patients with severe or advanced HF [1].

Recent data challenge the use of sodium and fluid restriction in patients with HF. This clinical consensus statement reviews sodium and fluid handling under normal physiological conditions and in patients with HF, the effects of HF medications on sodium and fluid avidity, and gives advice on sodium and fluid intake in patients with acute and chronic HF based on contemporary evidence and expert opinion.

Find the consensus statement online at Eur J Heart Fail.

Reference

1. McDonagh TA, Metra M, Adamo M, et al. 2021 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: Developed by the Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). With the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur J Heart Fail 2022;24:4–131. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejhf.2333