The risk reduction from salt reduction is independent of baseline blood pressure, suggesting mechanisms beyond just blood pressure lowering.

This finding seems at variance with the hypothesis that the effect of salt on cardiovascular risk is substantially mediated by its unfavourable action on blood pressure... Part of the association observed, however, might be mediated by factors other than blood pressure, and there is evidence in the literature of deleterious effects of high salt intake on left ventricular mass, arterial stiffness, and renal function, which are not totally explained by its effect on blood pressure.