The Bioassay of Adrenal Corticoids in the Urine of Patients with Congestive Heart Failure.

Futcher and Schroeder (1) and Warren and Stead (2) suggested that changes in endocrine activity might be present in congestive heart failure and might explain some of the symptoms such as edema and sodium retention. Merrill, Morrison, and Brannon (3) found an increased concentration of renin in the renal venous blood. No other reports of endocrine changes in congestive heart failure appear in the literature. Since sodium and water retention are known to occur following administration of adrenal cortical hormones, especially desoxycorticosterone, studies were undertaken to determine if the urine of patients in congestive heart failure contained increased amounts of corticoid substances.