376 VITALITY AND EFFICIENCY WITH RESTRICTED DIET. 



a number of observations made with the subject in the standing posi- 

 tion. After the completion of the walking, which usually occupied 

 about 26 minutes, the cufT was immediately inflated and both the 

 systolic and diastolic blood pressures noted. At the end of one minute 

 a second observation was made, and the observations continued at 

 intervals for 2 to 2^ minutes. These measurements, it is only fair to 

 state, were taken under very great tension on the part of all operators 

 and are not so free from extraneous influences as one could wish. 

 Furthermore, the cuff had to be repeatedly inflated somewhat rapidly, 

 and there was hardly time for the circulation to be fully established 

 in each case.^ On the other hand, it is highly improbable that with 

 the group of men as a whole, any disturbance of the general picture 

 could have been made by a fault in technique. The readings were 

 frequently checked by one of us and we have every confidence 

 that they were both taken and recorded as accurately as they 

 could be under the experimental conditions. We believe that they 

 present a true picture of the blood pressures immediately following 

 walking at a rate of about 69 meters per minute. The effects of 

 walking upon the action of the heart will be further considered in the 

 discussion of the pulse-rate. (See p. 440.) 



Although the first records of the blood pressures before and after 

 walking were those for Squad B on the morning of January 28, we shall 

 first discuss the values found with Squad A on the morning of February 

 3, 1918. These are given in table 78, in which both systolic and 

 diastolic pressures and pulse pressure are recorded for each of the 11 

 men immediately before and after walking. Usually two additional 

 observations were made after the cessation of walking at about the fifth 

 and ninth minutes with the subject sitting. The systohc blood 

 pressures as measured on these men in the standing position before 

 work on the morning of February 3 may first be compared with the 

 records made by Dr. Goodall on the evening of February 2 for the 

 sitting position. The systolic pressures on the morning of February 

 3 averaged 101 mm., the highest being 107 mm. with Mon and the 

 lowest 97 mm. found with 4 of the subjects. Examining the sitting 

 blood pressures found the preceding evening (see those for February 

 2 in the lower part of table 76), we find that the values tend to be 

 somewhat below 100, with an average of 95 nmi. The highest, 100 

 mm., was found with Can, Gar, Moy, and Vea, and the lowest, 90 mm., 

 with Bro, Gul, Pea, and Pec. Although the effect of posture on blood 

 pressure is the subject of much discussion, the morning systolic blood 

 pressures are reasonably well checked by these observations of the 

 evening before. The morning values for the systolic blood pressure 

 taken just before walking are therefore in all probability not far from 

 the true values. 



* This criticiam also applies to the technique used by Cotton, Rapport, and Lewis, Heart, 

 1017, 6, p. 269. 



