• Li Wei, Isla S Mackenzie, Thomas M MacDonald, and Jacob George.
• University College London, School of Pharmacy, Department of Practice and Policy , Entrance A, BMA House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JP , UK +44 020 7874 1275 ; +44 020 7387 5693 ; l.wei@ucl.ac.uk.
• Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2014 Nov 1; 13 (11): 1515-23.

IntroductionIt is widely recognized that excess sodium intake increases the risk of hypertension, and this subsequently increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although efforts are being made to reduce sodium intake in the population in general, there are concerns that a considerable sodium load can be ingested via certain effervescent, dispersible, and soluble formulations of medicines.Areas CoveredReducing dietary sodium intake in the general population has resulted in a significant reduction in cardiovascular disease outcomes. However, no previous studies have highlighted the potential risk of cardiovascular disease by taking sodium-containing medicines such as soluble forms of aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, and other common drugs. We recently conducted a nested case-control study in the UK general population using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink to study the long-term use of sodium-containing medicines and cardiovascular outcomes. The results showed that compared with standard formulations, patients who took sodium-containing medicines were 16% more likely to develop cardiovascular events (OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.12 - 1.21). The risks for stroke and hypertension were even higher, (1.22 [1.16 - 1.29] and 7.18 [6.74 - 7.65]), respectively.Expert OpinionSodium-containing formulations should be prescribed with caution only if the perceived benefits outweigh the risks.

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