STUDIES ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE LOW SODIUM CARDIAC DIET AND THE KEMPNER REGIMEN ON RENAL HEMO-DYNAMICS AND ELECTROLYTE EXCRETION IN HYPERTENSIVE SUBJECTS 123

Abstract

Until recently, renal function in man has been considered to be relatively unaffected by variations in dietary salt and protein (1, 2), which produce marked renal hemodynamic changes in the dog (3, 4). However, studies on normal subjects and patients in congestive failure suggest that changes in glomerular filtration rate may influence urinary sodium output as sodium intake is varied (5). The present report is concerned with the effects of dietary salt and protein restriction on renal function and electrolyte excretion in a series of hypertensive subjects, who were studied on a regular hospital diet, a low salt cardiac diet, and the Kempner rice diet (6), in which both salt and protein are markedly reduced.