The activity of the pituitary hormones (ACTH, STH, TTH, FSH, LH), the adrenal 
hormones (cortisol, aldosterone), the kidney hormone (renin), and the thyroid 
hormones (thyroxine tri-iodthyronine), the thyroxine binding capacity of blood 
proteins and the activity of the hormones of the pancreas (insulin) and the sex 
glands (testosterone, estradiol) were studied in 26 males suffering from 
ischemic heart disease verified by means of selective coronarography and in 20 
healthy males with no atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries of the heart. 
Patients with ischemic heart disease were found to be marked by increased 
activity in the blood of ACTH, TTH, cortisol, aldosterone, insulin, and 
estradiol and reduced concentration of STH, thyroxine, and testosterone. These 
shifts in the activity of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system and in its 
subordinate hormonal systems play an important role in the origin of the 
atherosclerotic process and assosiated ischemic heart disease.