Dietary Sodium, Oxidative Stress, and Pulsatile Hemodynamics

Excess dietary sodium is associated with cardiac hypertrophy independent of changes in blood pressure. Importantly, increased arterial pulsatile load predicts left ventricular hypertrophy, and thus presents a potential mechanism through which high dietary sodium augments cardiovascular disease risk. While high sodium diets impair vascular function via an increase in oxidative stress, how high sodium influences central pulsatile hemodynamics is not known. This project aims to a) determine how impaired vascular function affects pulsatile hemodynamics and thus influences the work of the heart during periods of high sodium consumption and b) examine whether regular aerobic exercise and/or fitness protects against the deleterious effects of excess sodium.