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| |  Cardia Salt Alternative Shown To Lower Blood Pressure TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- The results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter clinical study show Cardia(TM) Salt Alternative, as a dietary aid, significantly reduced blood pressure in hypertensive patients who were being treated with antihypertensive drugs. The data will be presented at the Twelfth Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension in San Francisco on Saturday, May 31, 1997, by Paul Whelton, MD, Professor and Dean, Tulane University Medical Center, School of Public Health, principal investigator in the study. Dr. Whelton reported statistically significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 4.15 and 2.7 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) respectively in the Cardia group compared to the regular salt group, and patients in the study could not detect a difference in taste between Cardia and regular salt. "Patients in the Cardia group had better blood pressure control than those in the regular salt group,” said Dr. Whelton, commenting on the results. "This effect can be attributed to the decreased intake of sodium and the increased intake of potassium with Cardia." Dr. Whelton added that these results underline the importance of dietary intervention along with drug therapy for people with hypertension. Cardia has 54 percent less sodium than table salt plus the added benefit of potassium and magnesium, two minerals that may be deficient in the diets of many people with high blood pressure. Key Study Results Two hundred and twenty-three hypertensive patients who were being treated with antihypertensive medications at thirteen centers in the U.S. were randomized in a double-blind study to receive either regular salt or Cardia at the table, in cooking, and in prepared meals, soups and snacks over a six week period. In addition to the statistically significant reduction in blood pressure observed in the Cardia group compared to the regular salt group, the following results were also reported: -- Cardia did not interfere with the effects of any of the antihypertensive medications and was shown to be especially beneficial to those patients on beta blockers and ACE inhibitors. "A major challenge for the medical community is to help hypertensive patients achieve the dietary and lifestyle recommendations of the American Heart Association and the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-V, 1993),” stated Jerome Cohen, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine, St. Louis University School of Medicine and Study Co-Investigator. "Since patients are unable to distinguish Cardia from regular salt, we now have a practical means to help them achieve a diet of reduced sodium with increased potassium and magnesium." The study was conducted at 13 major academic centers of excellence: Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Miss.; Orange County Heart Institute, Orange, Calif.; St. Louis University, St. Louis, Mo.; Wm. Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.; Eastside Pulmonary Associates, Bellevue, Wash.; Institute for Health Care Research, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Definitive Health Services, Inc., Winter Park, Fla.; Memphis Medical Specialists, Inc., Memphis, Tenn.; Brookdale Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.; Selah Medical Center, Boise, Idaho; Northside Internal Medicine Associates, Spokane, Wash. The use of Cardia is consistent with the recommendations of the Expert Panel, convened by Columbia University School of Public Health, on "The Role of Dietary Sodium and Potassium in the Prevention and Management of Hypertension: A Public Health Concern." In January 1997, the panel affirmed a causal relationship between sodium (salt) consumption and high blood pressure and announced that most people would benefit by moderating their daily sodium intake and maintaining an adequate level of potassium. Cardia Salt Alternative is not a treatment for hypertension; it is an alternative to salt which may help people to comply with medical guidelines for dietary sodium reduction and maintenance of adequate potassium and magnesium intake without giving up the taste of salt. AMBI develops and commercializes dietary and pharmaceutical products in the areas of hypertension and infectious disease.
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