seriously ill should not remain for days in bed, as the blood
pressure does not tend to continue to fall, although the heart may
become weakened by such bed rest. This is especially true if the
patient is nervous and irritable and objects to such confinement.

A systolic pressure much over 200 probably never goes down to
normal, and if such a high systolic pressure goes down to below 170,
we should consider the treatment successful.

Every active treatment of hypertension should begin with a thorough
cleaning out of the intestinal canal by purgation, best with mercury
in some form. Then the diet should be modified to meet the
individual case and the person's activity. If the blood pressure is
dangerously high, he should receive but little nourishment, best in
the form of cereals and skimmed milk.

On the other hand, if he has edema or dropsy, or if the heart showed
signs of weakness, large amounts of liquids should certainly not be
given, and in such cases it is better that he receive small
quantities of milk if that agrees, rather than large quantities of
skimmed milk. The amount of water should also be fitted to the
circulatory ability and the condition of the kidneys.

When more or less active treatment does not soon lower the
hypertension, and especially a high diastolic pressure, the
prognosis is bad. In a patient who is in more or less immediate
danger from his hypertension, the food and liquid taken, the care of
the bowels, and the measures used to cause secretions from the skin
must all be governed by the condition of his other organs. There is
no excuse for excessive, strenuous measures when the heart is