Before thiazides and ACE inhibitors, clinicians relied on bleeding, low-salt diets, metabolic experiments, and even nerve-cutting surgeries to manage dangerous blood pressure. This episode explains how these early interventions—and key discoveries about volume, salt, and baroreceptors—shaped our understanding of hypertension and paved the way for pharmacologic breakthroughs.

We trace the origins of how medicine first understood and measured blood pressure. From early fluid-pressure experiments and invasive animal studies to the invention of the modern blood-pressure cuff, we follow the slow realization that chronically elevated blood pressure is dangerous. We also explore the long-standing debate surrounding "essential hypertension" and how research—from Janeway's observations to insurance-company data and the Framingham Study—ultimately shifted medical practice toward active treatment.

Hosted by Dr. Adam Brown, a rheumatologist with a deep passion for medical history, Mechanism of Action invites you on a journey through the hidden chapters of modern medicine. From the first whispers of mysterious illnesses to the lab discoveries that revolutionized treatment, this show uncovers the fascinating stories behind the drugs we depend on.