Arterial hypertension and arteriosclerosis associated with Raynaud's syndrome

Patients with arterial hypertension, with or without clinically detectable arteriosclerosis, complain at times of periodic attacks of coldness of the fingers and toes, associated with pallor or cyanosis, with pain or paresthesia, and with temporary weakness of the hands and feet. The attack is usually precipitated by low temperature of the surroundings or by work; emotions play no rôle, in our experience. Spasm of other parts of the vascular tree is not necessarily present. In mild form this syndrome is not infrequent; in severe form it is comparatively rare. Its clinical characteristics resemble strikingly those of classical Raynaud's disease.So far as we are aware, no information is available as to the physiological mechanism of this syndrome. This communication presents observations on a patient who exhibited severe attacks, in the hope that the study will throw light on the nature of the attack.