Cardiovascular diseases remain the number one cause of death throughout the world, and killed nearly 17 million people in 2011, that is 3 in every 10 deaths. Of these, 7 million people died of ischemic heart disease and 6.2 million from stroke, reports the World Health Organization.
To promote the prevention of cardiovascular disease, a multi-sector consortium convened by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) endorsed a plan to reduce dietary salt consumption in the Americas by half by the year 2020. Currently, average salt consumption in most of the region’s countries is twice the recommended level of 5 grams per person per day.