Why do dissolvable tablets increase the risk of stroke?
Sodium, one of the dominant components of salt, is used by the makers of these medications to help the medication dissolve in water. However, these medications use high doses of salt, up to half a gram.
As a result, researchers say that if a patient took the maximum dose of two of these tablets every six hours, they would consume between just over three and three and a half grams of salt a day. For comparison, the WHO’s recommended daily salt intake is just two grams.
Salt is one of the major risk factors for heart disease because too much salt can lead to an increase in blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure.
It is for this reason that Professor Zeng and others are concerned. This includes Professor Aletta Schutte and Bruce Neal who wrote in an editorial: “Given that the pain relief effect of non-sodium-containing paracetamol is similar to that of sodium-containing paracetamol, clinicians may prescribe non-sodium-containing paracetamol to their patients to minimize the risk of cardiovascular disease and death.
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