hello all. i have a recent history of high blood pressure (usually 160/90) but i am on atenolol for this and it has signifigantly brought it down. (120/80) but i was wondering...

i heard that sodium intake will affect your blood pressure, and i was wondering if you ate something with a lot of sodium, but you drank tons of water with it, would that flush out some of the excess sodium you took in, therefore it wouldnt effect your bloodpressure??

any help would be appreciated!

I don't think you can drink enough water to flush out the sodium. I alwasys retain fluid when I have sodium.

Best to avoid sodium as much as possible.

A hypertension specialist says people can outsalt the dirurtetics they take for BP control. So, even taking a diuretic will not do the trick you are hoping for.

KK,

Would that it were so simple. Our ancestors, except those that lived seaside, always suffered from a SEVERE shortage of sodium. As a result evolution has given us kidneys with a loop feedback system that hangs onto sodium as if it were gold. In the absence of salt it can drop sodium excretion virtually to NIL.
In this world of SALT SALT SALT the kidneys are ill equipped to dump more than a small amount each day. In order to keep the concentration within the very tightest level required for life, any excess must be diluted with copious water, hence thirst.
The excess solution caused edema outside the blood vessels and high blood pressure INSIDE.
In the absence of a diuretic, any super salty day is followed by water retention that lasts for several days. I find my HCTZ MIGHTY handy at times.

So no, you can't flush it out with lots of water...it comes out when it comes out.