"The Causes of High Blood Pressure; in Prevention and Management" was the subject of a public lecture given at the Harvard Medical School yesterday by Dr. Soma Weiss. This address was the third of the series of Sunday afternoon lectures being offered by the Faculty of the Medical School.

In order to establish a background by the exposition of his research results. Dr. Weiss first described the fundamental features of the human circuitry system. He then examined the causes of high blood pressure, saying at that the most common direct cause lay constant nervous excitement or inherited super-sensitiveness of the vasmotor center of the brain, the governing nervous factor of the heart and the arteries. He pointed out that many patients who are afflicted with high blood pressure experience no ill effects or a long time after they have developed it. While in others its presence is made known by pains and disorders of various sorts.

Leads to Hardening of Arteries

"The danger of high blood pressure lies in the fact that it leads to degeneration and to hardening of the arteries. The high tension represents considerable wear and tear on the blood vessels. The smaller arteries suffer the most because of their delicate structure. Although the walls of the arteries become thicker with increasing blood pressure, they have less resistance than the normal elastic vessels.

"High blood pressure is," he continued, "the source of more disability and death in middle aged and elderly people than any other condition. It creeps on the individual without giving and warning of discomfort."