[Urinary excretion of aldosterone in patients with hypertension]

Plasma value, by dye-dilution method, sodium excretion and potassium quantity in plasma by flame photometry, plasma renin activity by radioimmune method and aldosterone excretion with urine by spectrophotometric method were studied in 34 patients with I, II and III stage of hypertonic disease. Aldosterone excretion was established to be normal in 55.8 of the patients and increased in 44.2 per cent. The excretion of aldosterone showed no discrepancies in the patients with hypertonic disease depending on the size of plasma volume. Aldosterone excretion was increased in hypertonic patients with high plasma renin activity as compared with the subjects with normal and with reduced plasma renin activity. Reverse interrelations were established as regards sodium excretion.