The Lettsomian Lectures on Diseases and Disorders of the Heart and Arteries in Middle and Advanced Life [1900-1901]Bruce, J. Mitchell (John Mitchell)
Science
The Lettsomian Lectures on Diseases and Disorders of the Heart and Arteries in Middle and Advanced Life [1900-1901]
Bruce, J. Mitchell (John Mitchell)
Arteries -- Diseases; Cardiovascular system -- Diseases; Heart -- Diseases; Middle-aged persons; Older people
When we review these facts, I think we are entitled to conclude that
the physical signs and symptoms carefully determined by clinical
investigation may be confidently employed, along with the patient's
previous personal history, and the history of his present illness,
to differentiate from each other the causes of cardio-vascular
degeneration in individual cases. And, further, that they inform
us of the seat of at least some of the lesions, valvular, parietal
and vascular. A little trouble, patience and attentive observation
are all that are required to reach a complete or working diagnosis.
Now we may approach the great practical subjects of prognosis and
treatment with some confidence.
PROGNOSIS.
Beginning with the simplest kind of cardio-vascular disorder, let us
see what the prognosis is in tobacco heart. You will have gathered
from what I had to say on this subject in my last lecture, and
indeed you know as men of observation and experience, that it is
comparatively favourable. All the cases I have had an opportunity to
watch did well, provided the cause of their distress was avoided and
the heart and vessels were otherwise healthy. Further, improvement
begins early, and it may be rapid and recovery complete; but you
will remember that one patient, whose case I detailed to you,
continued to have alarming angina for six months after giving up
tobacco. Recurrence attends resumption of the habit, but some of
its votaries contrive to continue to smoke just short of inducing
serious discomfort. Unless a successful effort at reform be made,
cardiac trouble may continue indefinitely. But even then I cannot
say that I have seen serious damage done by tobacco alone in
sound hearts, nor arterial sclerosis, as has been stated by some
authorities.
An entirely different and most unfavourable estimate is to be formed
of the prospect of life in the alcoholic heart. Naturally, a certain
proportion of cases recover if the disease be of recent development,
the condition uncomplicated, and treatment faithfully carried
out. Unfortunately, as a rule, we have to deal with alcoholism in
which all these conditions of success are wanting. The habit is
established, other organs besides the heart are involved, other
diseases than alcoholism are present, and the patient has neither
the inclination nor the power to follow our advice. Cirrhosis,
neuritis, dementia complicate the cardiac degeneration, or, more
correctly, it complicates one or all of these. Chronic Bright's
disease is made to account for a number of deaths in the mortality
returns that strictly belong to alcoholism. Occasionally the end
comes suddenly from fatty degeneration, or in the course of some
acute disease; otherwise, as we have seen, by slow cardiac failure
and dropsy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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