Disturbances of the Heart: Discussion of the Treatment of the Heart in Its Various Disorders, With a Chapter on Blood PressureOsborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)
Science
Disturbances of the Heart: Discussion of the Treatment of the Heart in Its Various Disorders, With a Chapter on Blood Pressure
Osborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)
Blood pressure; Heart -- Diseases
Sooner or later, in most instances of this disease, whether
hypertension, chronic endarteritis or interstitial nephritis or any
combination of these conditions is most in evidence, the heart will
hypertrophy. As long as the circulation in the heart itself is good
and not impaired by coronary sclerosis, and as long as this slowly
developing chronic myocarditis has not advanced far, cardiac
symptoms will not be in evidence; but if these conditions occur, or
if the blood pressure is so greatly increased as to damage the
aortic valve or strain and dilate the left ventricle, symptoms
rapidly appear, and the heart must be carefully watched.
Subsequently, as the disease advances, if the patient does not die
of angina pectoris, apoplexy or uremia, the symptoms of cardiac
decompensation will develop. As the heart begins to fail, a
dilatation of the right ventricle causes passive congestion of the
kidneys, and the chronic interstitial nephritis may progress more
rapidly. It is often difficult to decide which is more in evidence,
heart insufficiency or kidney insufficiency. The more the heart
fails, the more albumin will generally appear in the urine, and the
lower the blood pressure, especially the diastolic. The more
insufficient the kidneys, the higher the blood pressure, especially
the diastolic. The location of the edema will aid in deciding which
condition is most in evidence. If the edema is pendent in feet, legs
and perhaps genitals when the patient is up, with its disappearance
at night, and more or less backache and pitting of the back in the
morning, it is the heart that is most rapidly failing. If there is
more general edema, the hands and face puffing, and there are
considerable nausea and vomiting, headache and drowsiness, and
perhaps muscular twitchings, with neuralgic pains, the most serious
trouble at that particular time lies in the kidney insufficiency.
Kisch [Footnote: Kisch: Med. Klin., Feb. 27, 1916.] sums up the
procedural symptoms and signs of cerebral hemorrhage. The heart is
generally enlarged and hypertrophied. The patient is likely to be
overweight or adding weight, and to suffer from intestinal
indigestions. Signs of sclerosis of the blood vessels of the brain
are evidenced by transient dizziness; headaches; impaired sleep;
loss of memory, especially for names and words; slight disturbances
of speech, momentary perhaps, and more or less temporary localized
numbness of the hands or feet, or arms or legs, with perhaps
flushing of some part of the body, or little localized spasms of
vessels of other parts of the body, causing chilliness.
There is also a marked hereditary tendency to apoplexy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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