Salty medications pose potential health problems for patients

Medications that contain high doses of salt could cause a health risk for patients. A new study has suggested that soluble medications that are used by millions of people in Britain alone could be damaging to health due to the large amounts of salt they contain, reports BBC news.

The study, performed by UK researchers, highlights the fact that some soluble medications, when taken at the highest dose, provide high amounts of salt. The levels contained in these doses are higher than recommended daily amounts for adults, according to the study. This level of sodium intake could have a number of health consequences. 

Published in the 'British Medical Journal' the study looks at outcomes for some 1.2 million patients throughout the UK. It reveals that there could be a link between instances of heart attack and stroke and soluble medications.

If a medication contains at least 23mg of sodium per dose, it must state on the product labelling that it contains sodium. The patient information leaflet that comes with the medication must also detail how much sodium is present in a single dose, as well as giving a warning to those that are on low-sodium diets that the medication should be taken into account, reports the news provider.

The study found that patients who regularly took soluble tablets with high sodium contents, when compared to those that took the equivalent medication without any salt content, were at higher risk of developing health complications. Patients taking the salty medications were more likely to suffer from a stroke or have a heart attack. Their chances of these attacks and of dying from a vascular complication were raised by a fifth.

Patients taking more salty tablets also increased their chances of developing hypertension or high blood pressure. These can be the base cause of the more serious health implication, according to the study.

A total of 24 effervescent tablets were looked at in the study. These medications are combined with bicarbonate - which is often mixed with sodium - to enable them to fizz and dissolve in water. The tablets included in the study included popular everyday medications, such as aspirin and paracetamol, as well as different supplements.