William Osler: slow pulse, stokes-adams disease, and sudden death in families.
In 1903, William Osler, then at Johns Hopkins University, published "On the So-Called Stokes-Adams Disease (Slow Pulse with Syncopal Attacks, etc.)" in The Lancet, classifying a syndrome in evolution. There are thinly disguised references to a brother and to himself in the article, suggesting that Osler was concerned about a family and personal predisposition. Osler's decision to move to Oxford was triggered in part by his personal concerns about cardiac disease. Then, in 1909, Osler contributed a chapter on Stokes-Adams disease to Allbutt and Rolleston's A System of Medicine, complemented by a brilliant pathologic section by the renowned anatomist-morphologist, Arthur Keith. Osler's original contributions involved his emphasis on the importance of family history, his careful clinical and natural history observations, and his recognition of the familial occurrence of bradycardia, Stokes-Adams disease, sudden death, and cardiomyopathy.
The Ohio State University, Division of Cardiology, Heart Lung Research Institute, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. wooley-1@medctr.osu.edu
Charles F
CF
Wooley
Michael
M
Bliss
D000219:Adams-Stokes Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history*; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D005192:Family Health; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010375:Pedigree; D014481:United States