Abstract
During the course of tracer studies with Na22 † in 2 patients with chronic congestive heart failure and one normal subject, the relationship of weight, venous pressure and sodium excretion was observed.
Each subject received an intravenous injection of a tracer dose of Na22 (activity of 12,500,000 counts per minute 1 ). Over a 2-month period, all urine samples were collected separately and the concentration of radio-sodium determined for each, as well as for daily samples of blood serum. All counts were corrected so as to correspond to an initial injection of Na22 with an activity of 20,000,000 counts per minute per 100 lb body weight. Weights and venous pressures 2 were recorded daily.
Results. (1) Behavior of weight, venous pressure and sodium excretion with the subjects on a low sodium diet. In all 3 subjects during a 22-day period of low sodium intake (<1.7 g NaCl/day), the weight and venous pressure varied concordantly, although the daily changes were not always concordant (Fig. 1, 2, and 3). The associated changes in sodium excretion were inversely related to those of weight and venous pressure. The patient whose weight and venous pressure were decreasing excreted the largest per cent of the injected Na22 during this period, while the least was excreted by the patient whose weight and venous pressure were increasing.
(2) Effect of adding sodium chloride to the, diet. Twelve grams of NaCl per day were added to the diet of the normal subject and the patient with congestive heart failure who was recovering (Patient No. 1). This resulted in a marked increase in the sodium clearance and in the sodium excretion of the normal subject, but there was only a slight increase in the clearance without an increase in the total Na22 excretion in the patient with heart failure. There was a slight increase in the weight and venous pressure associated with the decrease in total Na22 output in the patient with congestive heart failure.
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