Acute effects of cardiac glycosides on aldosterone secretion in dogs with hyperaldosteronism secondary to chronic right heart failure.

• Since the report of Deming and Lnetscher that patients with congestive heart failure excrete abnormally large amounts of a saltretaining substance in the urine, considerable attention has been focused on the role of aldosterone in congestive heart failure. Although there is a large body of evidence to demonstrate that excessive aldosterone secrelioji plays an important role in the marked Xa retention in congestive heart failure, some investigators have failed to find increased secretion of this mineralocorticoid in clinical"' 4 and in experimental"' heart failure. The mechanisms leading to excessive aldosteroue production in cardiac failure and the mechanisms by which aldosterone secretion is decreased as cardiac compensation is achieved have been the subject of much recent investigation.9 Although cardiac glycosides have been reported to reduce adrenal blood flow and aldosterone secretion in normal dogs, the possibility must be strongly considered that improved cardiovascular function leads to the decrease in aldosterone production after digitalization in heart failure.'