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In 25 men with acute myocardial infarction simultaneous determinations of free fatty acid (FFA), noradrenaline, and adrenaline were made in blood samples obtained on the 1st and the ioth day after the acute attack. In the acute phase of myocardial infarction the levels of FFA and noradrenaline were significantly higher than on the ioth day of illness and revealed a highly significant positive correlation. The blood adrenaline levels were not significantly raised and did not correlate with the FFA levels. Patients and methods Twenty-five men with acute myocardial infarction, consecutively admitted to the coronary care unit, were studied. The age range was 35-65 years, with a mean of 5I-4 years. The diagnosis of myocardial infarction was based on the clinical picture, typical electrocardiographic findings, and raised enzyme levels. None of the patients received heparin, corticosteroids, clofibrate, glucose infusions, or other drugs which might have influenced the parameters studied. None of the patients had a history of diabetes mellitus. The patients were continuously monitored with an oscilloscope, with frequent pulse and blood pressure measurements. The venous blood samples of about 25 ml were obtained within I2 hours from the onset of the acute attack, at least 5 hours after a meal. The infarction was transmural in 22 patients and subendocardial in 3 patients. The localization of the infarction was anterior in 8 patients, anterolateral and inferolateral in 2 patients each, and inferior in 8 patients. None of the patients had evidence of shock. Four patients gave a history of hypertension. In 4 patients the systolic blood pressure was i6o mmHg or higher, and in IO patients the diastolic blood pressure equalled or exceeded 95 mmHg at the time of blood collection.Various degrees of heart failure were found in i8 patients; in I2 of them the symptoms of heart

1. Ten patients with essential hypertension and ten healthy men were submitted to mental stress consisting of Kraepelin's arithmetic test combined with noise. Concentrations of plasma and urine catecholamines and of their metabolites as well as plasma renin activity before and after the test were studied. 2. In both groups a significant increase of noradrenaline and adrenaline in blood and noradrenaline in urine was observed. The urinary excretion of dopamine fell significantly in both groups after stress. 3. After mental stress a significant increase in urinary excretion of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol was observed in both groups. The excretion of vanillylmandelic acid decreased significantly only in healthy subjects. 4. The plasma renin activity rose significantly in both groups but the increase was more pronounced in healthy subjects.

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