DIETARY TREATMENT OF HYPERTENSION. II. SODIUM DEPLETION AS RELATED TO THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT 1

Abstract

Abnormal accumulations of sodium have been demonstrated by direct analysis of the tissues of dogs (1) and rats (2) that had been made hypertensive by renal ischemia. These observations are of special interest because of the reductions of blood pressure in hypertensive patients that may be induced by means of extreme restriction of the dietary sodium. Taken together, these facts suggest that the benefit experienced by the patients might be due to the removal of excess sodium.