Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University say they reached their conclusion after examining dietary intake among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults, using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the federal government.

The data were compared against death records that had been collected by the government through the year 2000. The sample of approximately 8,700 represented those over age 30 at the time of the baseline survey -- 1988 to 1994 -- and were not on a special low-salt diet.

The researchers said they observed a significantly increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease associated with lower sodium diets.

The study, published in the online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found that adjusting for known heart risk factors -- such as smoking, diabetes and blood pressure -- the one-fourth of the sample who reported consuming the lowest amount of sodium were found to be 80 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared to the one-fourth of the sample consuming the highest level of sodium.