A new study  in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded   substituting table salt with a substitute that includes added potassium and reduced sodium could significantly reduce the number of deaths caused by heart attack and stroke. Salt substitutes with reduced sodium levels and increased potassium levels have been shown to lower blood pressure, but their effects on cardiovascular and safety outcomes are uncertain, reported in the abstract of the report by the New England Journal of Medicine.

A Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSaSS), an open-label, cluster-randomized trial conducted across 600 villages in rural China, the salt stand-in lowered the risk of stroke by 14%.

Those who participated in the study were given a salt substitute comprising of 75% sodium chloride and 25% potassium chloride, and the other half studies were told to keep using regular salt, which is 100% sodium chloride.

MedicalResearch.com interviewed Maoyi TIAN PhD, Program Head, Digital Health and Head, Injury & Trauma, Senior Research Fellow at The George Institute reported, There is clear evidence from the literature that sodium reduction or potassium supplementation can reduce blood pressure. Reduced blood pressure can also lead to a risk reduction for cardiovascular diseases. Salt substitute is a reduced sodium added potassium product combined those effects. Previous research of salt substitute focus on the blood pressure outcome. There is no evidence if salt substitute can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases or pre-mature death. This study provided a definitive evidence for this unaddressed question. Source: MedicalResearch.com

The key findings were:

The salt substitute reduced the risk of stroke by 14%

The salt substitute reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 13%

The salt substitute reduced the risk of pre-mature death by 12%