Prevent Heart Failure with Good Hydration

Another reason that it is important to pay attention to the number of cups of water you drink every day: Good hydration may prevent or at least slow down changes within the heart that lead to heart failure. According to research presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in 2021, maintaining good hydration throughout life could reduce the risk of developing heart failure.

Serum sodium is a precise way to measure hydration status; when people drink less fluid, serum sodium concentration increases, which leads the body to attempt to conserve water. This activates processes known to contribute to heart failure. Serum sodium concentration remains within a narrow range over long periods, likely related to habitual fluid consumption.

The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study looked at whether hydration habits (measured by serum sodium concentration in middle age) predict the development of heart failure 25 years later. The study was performed in 15,792 adults aged 44—66 at recruitment, who were evaluated over five visits until age 70—90. The researchers also examined the connection between hydration and left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of the walls of the heart’s main pumping chamber, the left ventricle), which is a precursor to diagnosis of heart failure.

A link was found between higher serum sodium concentration in midlife and both heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy 25 years later, and serum sodium remained significantly associated with both heart failure and left ventricular hypertrophy after adjusting for other factors related to heart failure (age, blood pressure, kidney function, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, body mass index, sex, and smoking status).

Daily fluid intake recommendations range from 1.6—2.1 litres (6.8—8.9 cups) for women and 2—3 litres (8.5—12.7 cups) for men. However, worldwide surveys show that many people do not meet even the lower ends of these ranges.

Study findings may help identify people who could benefit from an evaluation of their hydration level and fluid intake to decrease the risk of developing heart failure.