136 ^^6 Philippine Journal of Science me 



the load the vascular system carries, and he regarded it as the 

 true measure of the arterial tension. It is also the most constant 

 of the two pressures, for it does not respond so readily to 

 stimuli of various kinds. It further indicates the load the 

 arteries have all the time to carry and the resistance the heart 

 has to overcome as it begins its ventricular systole. 



The significance of pulse pressure, according to Martin, (4) 

 is the intermittent burden of pressure imposed on the arteries 

 by the energy of the heart in systole in order to force the blood 

 toward the periphery and maintain the circulation. In other 

 words, it is the amount of pressure exerted by the heart during 

 systole in excess of the diastolic pressure. It measures the 

 dynamic over the potential energy, the systolic pressure being 

 the kinetic energy and the diastolic pressure the potential energy. 

 The systolic and pulse pressures represent myocardial values, 

 while the diastolic represents arterial resistance. 



High blood pressure is a compensatory process and represents 

 the attempt on the part of the heart to maintain the circulation 

 in equilibrium against conditions that tend to raise the general 

 peripheral resistance. (3) 



High systolic and comparatively low diastolic pressures, 

 making an excessively large pulse pressure, may mean func- 

 tional derangement, aortic regurgitation with compensation, 

 myocardial degeneration without nephritis or arteriosclerosis, or 

 vasomotor derangement from any cause. (4) 



A high diastolic pressure invariably means constantly in- 

 creased work on the part of the heart, leading to hypertrophy 

 of the left ventricle. It is also of great practical importance to 

 remember that a constantly high diastolic pressure entails a 

 much greater strain on the vessel walls than the transient 

 systolic pressure and should be taken as a danger signal of 

 probable rupture. 



The main object of this investigation is to study the normal 

 blood-pressure picture of Filipinos of all ages and of both sexes 

 in order to establish a standard, which we believe will be very 

 valuable to clinicians and to physicians connected with life- 

 insurance companies as a guide in their daily determination of 

 blood pressure. We have also compared our results with the 

 findings of investigators in temperate climates. 



NUMBER AND CLASS OF PERSONS EXAMINED 



We present here the results of blood-pressure readings on 

 697 males and 218 females, making a total of 915 cases. These 

 observations, with the exception of 78 cases, were made on 



