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| |  New Salt Alternative That Helps Reduce Blood Pressure Launched Nationally TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Jan. 16, 1997 -- AMBI Inc. (Nasdaq: AMBI) announced today that Cardia(TM) Salt Alternative is now available on pharmacy shelves throughout the United States. When used in the diet, Cardia has shown in clinical studies to reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension -- a condition which affects more than 50 million Americans, or one-quarter of the adult population. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend that people with high blood pressure reduce sodium intake, on average, by half. Cardia has 54 percent less sodium than table salt plus the added benefit of potassium and magnesium -- two minerals that the NIH says are important for managing high blood pressure. Also, unlike salt substitutes, Cardia has real salt taste. In surveys of people with high blood pressure and the doctors who treat them, 99 percent say that Cardia tastes just like salt. "Cardia's real salt taste provides a solution for balancing the American public's taste for salt and the lower sodium, higher potassium diets their doctors recommend," says Paul Whelton, MD, Dean of Tulane School of Public Health. The American Heart Association (AHA) and the NIH have both issued guidelines stating that Americans eat twice as much salt as they should. They recommend that to adhere to a heart healthy diet, people should eat no more than 2.4 grams of sodium (equivalent to 6 grams or about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt) daily. They also recommend that adequate amounts of potassium and magnesium be maintained in the diet. "Even with a modest reduction in salt intake, it is estimated that we could reduce the death rates from stroke by 22 percent and from heart attack by 16 percent," Dr. Whelton states. "If we follow the guidelines, it is estimated we could reduce mortality even further, by 39 and 30 percent respectively." Clinically Tested "The clinical studies for Cardia are compelling and demonstrate than it is an effective approach to help people with hypertension decrease their blood pressure, whether or not they are on drug therapy," says Dr. Whelton. A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study found that the substitution of Cardia, for table salt in the diet over a five-week period significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (a measure of pressure when the heart is pumping) by 7.4 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure (a measure of pressure when the heart is at rest) by 3.6 mm Hg. In another double-blind trial, 40 untreated mildly hypertensive patients were placed on salt-reduced diets and randomized to receive Cardia or regular table salt over a six-month period. Investigators found a statistically significant reduction in both systolic (13 mm Hg) and diastolic (8 mm Hg) blood pressure for those patients on Cardia. A population study on adherence to non-pharmacological and pharmacological approaches to reducing high blood pressure in Finland resulted in approximately 12 mm Hg decline in blood pressure, with the majority of the reduction attributed to the lower salt diets with the use of Cardia (known as Pansuola(R) in Finland). This reduction in blood pressure was paralleled by a 60 percent decrease in deaths from both stroke and coronary heart disease among 30 to 59 year-old men and women. Cardia, unlike regular salt, has also shown that it does not interfere with the blood pressure lowering effect of the most commonly prescribed antihypertensive medications including beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and calcium channel blockers in preclinical studies. Real Salt Taste While most people are aware that reducing salt is important for the prevention and management of high blood pressure, many people with hypertension have difficulty cutting salt from their diets. Salt-free food can be bland and most salt substitutes have a bitter metallic taste. In addition, decreasing sodium intake can be difficult because it is found in most processed and canned foods, frozen meals, and dry mixes. "People with high blood pressure will benefit from reducing sodium in their diet," says Jerome D. Cohen, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine, St. Louis University Health Sciences Center. "However, this is very difficult for most patients to achieve. Cardia is the first product I can recommend to my patients because I am confident they will find it an acceptable alternative since its taste is indistinguishable from salt. Instead of having to take something away from a patient, doctors will now be able to recommend something patients can use and enjoy which provides the benefit of lowering sodium without diminishing the pleasure of good eating." Cardia can be used just like salt, measure for measure, in cooking, baking, and at the table. Experts Confirm Importance of Sodium Reduction Although the issue of appropriate salt use has drawn much attention recently, today's announcement by the expert panel convened by the Dean of the Columbia University School of Public Health entitled "The Role of Dietary Sodium and Potassium in the Prevention and Management of Hypertension: A Public Health Concern, " provides confirmation of the significance of sodium reduction in the diet. "The panel agreed that dietary sodium reduction could manage and, in some cases, prevent hypertension. It can also be an effective alternative to the use of some antihypertensive medications," said Dan Jones, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Hypertension, University of Mississippi Medical Center. The panel also agreed that adequate potassium levels should be maintained and that the amount of sodium relative to the amount of potassium in the diet may be of greater clinical significance than sodium reduction alone. "This consensus, along with the latest findings of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and Trial of Nonpharmacologic Interventions in the Elderly (TONE) studies presented at the AHA meeting, show that dietary and lifestyle modifications can help manage high blood pressure and reduce or eliminate the need for medication in some people," stated Dr. Jones. "The message is clear that sodium reduction is important to all Americans, especially those who have or are at risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases." Cardia Salt Alternative Available Nationwide for the First Time Cardia is a patented food product available in pharmacies nationwide without a prescription. It comes in portion-controlled packets, each containing 1/8 teaspoon, an average serving of Cardia. It is marketed by AMBI Inc., a company that develops and commercializes dietary and pharmaceutical products.
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