382 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



pulse pressure approximated that prior to walking. Three exceptions 

 to this, however, should be noted. That is, with Sch the pulse pressure, 

 which was 22 nun. at the second minute after walking, rose with sitting 

 and at the end of 9 minutes was 36 mm. It will be remembered that 

 Sch was the one man who showed a pronounced fall in pulse pressure 

 after the walking. With Liv the sitting pulse pressure at the end of 9 

 minutes was considerably less than that found prior to walking, 

 although the values for both systohc and diastolic pressures found with 

 him prior to walking are open to some question on technical grounds. 

 With Tho the pulse pressure of 12 mm. prior to walking is likewise open 

 to suspicion; the level noted at the end of 9 minutes was 22 mm. 



GENERAL CONCLUSIONS REGARDING BLOOD PRESSURE. 



The decreases in blood pressure for all of the men in both Squads A 

 and B, which were found for both systohc and diastoHc pressures, as 

 well as for the pulse pressure, indicate that one of the most pronounced 

 effects of the reduced diet was upon the heart action. The fact that 

 the diastolic pressure fell to 60 mm. or below in so many instances with 

 both squads is surprising, for this is practically the so-called ''shock 

 level" observed in cases of surgical shock, which has been extensively 

 studied in recent times in connection with the war. One might infer 

 from this that with these extraordinarily low diastolic pressures the 

 subjects would be distinctly unable to withstand surgical shock. On 

 the other hand, we must bear in mind that this is simply another illus- 

 tration of the marvelous capacity of the human body to adjust itself 

 to very wide variations. While the safety factor may be very great, it 

 would not necessarily follow that the diastohc pressure noted here 

 would be so greatly affected by surgical shock as would a higher press- 

 ure. Indeed, the influence of surgical shock upon such low diastohc 

 pressures as these would seem worthy of experimental study with 

 lower animals. 



Owing to other work it was impossible for us to give more specific 

 attention to this important factor, but we feel that tracings should 

 have been obtained and the data regarding blood pressure considerably 

 amplified. In the absence of further information, adequate discussion 

 of this subject is of course impossible. We must therefore content 

 ourselves with recording accurately the data as obtained, in the hope 

 that subsequent experimentation may amplify these and render a clear 

 explanation possible. That these men at weight maintenance could 

 have successfully and vigorously carried out their usual physical 

 activities when the blood pressure was as low as is indicated in the 

 series of observations recorded in tables 76 to 79, is one of the 

 perplexing features of this whole research. The possibility of pro- 

 nounced alterations in blood pressure in disease by means of dietetic 

 alterations similar to those applied here opens a field for speculation 



