STUDIES ON HYPERTENSION

Abstract

THE common therapeutic practice of attempting to lower the blood pressure of hypertensive patients makes it wise to determine whether such lowering of blood pressure may have any adverse influence. In view of the relationship of arterial pressure to renal filtration, the frequency with which hypertensive states are associated with pathologic glomerular changes and the associated abnormalities which might influence arteriolar renal blood flow, it seemed especially desirable to determine whether therapeutically induced significant falls in blood pressure would affect renal function. This problem has been previously investigated by the urea clearance as the criterion of renal function. It was found¹ that there was a decrease in urea clearance during the period that the blood pressure of hypertensive patients was decreased by spinal anesthesia. In view of the admitted defects of urea clearance as a method of determining renal function, we have reinvestigated the problem with the more precise