06 Jul High Phosphates in Processed Foods May Contribute To Increased Blood Pressure

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Vongpatanasin

Wanpen Vongpatanasin, MD
Professor of Medicine
Norman & Audrey Kaplan Chair in Hypertension Research
Director, Hypertension Section
Cardiology Division
UT Southwestern Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Inorganic phosphate has been added to our processed food at an enormous amount as food preservatives and flavor enhancer such that typical American diet contains twice as much as the recommended daily allowance. A high phosphate (Pi) diet was recently shown to trigger blood pressure (BP) elevation in otherwise normal rats but the mechanisms are still unknown.We found that rats treated with high phosphate diet that mimics the excess Pi consumed by the general American population developed high BP related to increased sympathetic nerve activity (SNA), resulting in excessive peripheral vasoconstriction. This exaggerated increase in SNA and BP is evident particularly during exercise. This study is conducted in collaboration with Drs. Masaki Mizuno and Scott Smith, the two leading experts in neural control of circulation at UT Southwestern in the Department of Health Care Sciences.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Since excessive increase in blood pressure during exercise has been shown to increase risk of heart attack , stroke, and increase heart muscle mass from high pressure overload which is independent of resting blood pressure, our findings may have relevance in terms of raising safety concern regarding long terms consequence of phosphate additives in our diet.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: We need to pursue studies in humans to confirm these findings and identify how high phosphate diet affects the brainstem function the regulates blood pressure.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

High dietary phosphate intake induces hypertension and augments exercise pressor reflex function in rats” is published ahead-of-print in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
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Last Updated on July 6, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD