title: An historical review of rupture of the heart.
abstract: In 1649 William Harvey noted the autopsy findings of a patient with spontaneous rupture of the heart. Additional reports by Nicholls, Morgagni, Hodgson, Quain, Vulpian, and others describing the dramatic clinical and pathological features of cardiac rupture appeared during the following 250 years. These reports are cited in order to document and trace an increasing awareness that acute myocardial infarction caused by obstructive coronary artery disease was the most frequent cause of this catastrophic event. Frequently these older reports speak for themselves without elaboration. At other times, they will be cautiously interpreted in the context of present-day understanding of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Cardiology Service, Manchester Memorial Hospital, Manchester, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duke