Background: Stroke causes neurological injury and a large number of deaths. Daily activities and quality of life are affected by neurological deficits. The major risk factors of stroke include hypertension and diabetes. Positive association has been observed between dietary sodium, blood pressure, and the risk of stroke. Negative association has been observed between dietary potassium and risk of hypertension and stroke. Intravenous magnesium sulfate in acute ischemic stroke could decrease the scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Our earlier long-term intervention trial in elderly veteran home showed a 41% reduction in cardiovascular mortality by simply switching regular cooking salt to potassiumenriched salt in kitchens, but magnesium was not included in this trial. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of potassium and/ or magnesium-enriched salt on neurological performance in stroke patients.
