Meta-analyses from the past couple of years have yielded mixed findings on the effects of a salt-restricted diet on hypertension and cardiovascular risk. Using data from patients with cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus who had been enrolled in ONTARGET or TRANSCEND, researchers now show that the relationship between estimated urinary sodium excretion and cardiovascular risk is J-shaped. Risk of cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization for congestive heart failure was lowest when sodium excretion was between 4 g and 5.99 g per day, and rose at levels of sodium excretion >7 g per day or <3 g per day. The investigators also report that higher levels of estimated potassium excretion were associated with a reduced risk of stroke compared with potassium excretion <1.5 g per day.