Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension With Sodium (Na) Reduction for Chinese Canadians

Hypertension has been identified as the most important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and accounts for a large proportion of stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure in the Chinese population. While unhealthy diet has been identified as a modifiable risk factor for hypertension, there is a lack of culturally sensitive dietary intervention targeting Chinese Canadians. The 8-week DASHNa-CC intervention incorporated Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, sodium reduction with the food therapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and included an intervention manual, two sessions of classroom instruction delivered in Mandarin, and a 20-minute telephone follow-up.

Inclusion criteria

• were at least 45 years old;
• had a systolic blood pressure 140 to 159 mmHg, or a diastolic blood pressure 90 to 99 mmHg, based on pre-intervention baseline assessment;
• were able to understand (listen) and speak in Mandarin, read and write in Chinese; and
• had access to a telephone.

Exclusion criteria

• used antihypertensive medications or other medications that raise or lower blood pressure during the previous three months;
• used TCM or professional TCM counselling to decrease blood pressure during the previous three months;
• used insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents during the previous three months;
• had a history of a cardiovascular event (stroke, myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass surgery, or other arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease related therapeutic procedure) during the previous three months;
• had a history of congestive heart failure;
• had a cancer diagnosis or treatment during the past two years;
• had special dietary requirements;
• were pregnant, breast feeding, or planned for pregnancy prior to the anticipated end of study;
• were a household member of another DASHNa-CC participant; or
• planned to leave the area prior to the anticipated end of study.