Hypertension and Constipation

It is commonly assumed by practicing physicians that intestinal autointoxication has something to do with the production of hypertension. The more thoughtful writers on the subject, knowing that there is no mass of statistics to which they can turn for enlightenment, are guarded in their statements, but those who live by washing colons, and those who have for sale laxative drugs and foods and patented syringes have no such inhibitions. They proclaim from the housetops that one of the dire consequences of constipation is high blood pressure, and to a large extent their propaganda is believed. It seemed wise, therefore, to study the problem statistically; that is, to compare the pressures of several hundred men and women with normal bowels with those of several hundred constipated individuals. It is really hard to understand why, during the course of years of argument on the subject, so simple a thing has not