Hypertension

During the past ten years or so I have been particularly interested in hypertension. About the time that Luckhardt, Dragstedt and their collaborators brought out their work on calcium lactate as a preventive of parathyroid tetany in dogs I commenced using it in hypertension on the theory that if it prevented tonic spasm in skeletal muscle it might also prevent tonic spasm in arteriolar muscle. At first it was administered in doses of 15 Gm. in water three times daily before meals. This seemed to cause a marked improvement both subjectively and objectively but was difficult and unpleasant to take. The dosage was then gradually reduced to 4 Gm. three times daily, but this did not seem to be as effective so it was increased to 8 Gm. three times daily. I am now reporting the results of the treatment of fifty-five patients treated by this method at the Northwestern