Blast From The Past

[firewatcher]

Just poking around, I found this 1976 article on DaCosta's syndrome, or Soldier's Heart:

Yesteryear's disorders

CF Wooley

Where are the diseases of yesteryear? DaCosta's syndrome, soldiers heart, the

effort syndrome, neurocirculatory asthenia--and the mitral valve prolapse syndrome

DACOSTA DESCRIBED "IRRITABLE HEART" in

1871,1 a peculiar form of functional disorder of the heart

seen in the military population during the War Between the

States. He thought this disorder was similar to that

described earlier among British troops in India and in the

Crimean War. The disorder frequently presented either after

an episode of diarrhea and persisted after the digestive disturbances

had passed away, or originated suddenly without

previous digestive disorder. Two-thirds of his 300 patients

were 16 to 25 years old. These cases represented the most

common cardiac malady he encountered among soldiers; he

also recognized that the disorder existed in the civilian population

as well.

Symptoms included palpitation of varying severity and

frequency, with attacks lasting for several hours, attended

by increased pain in the cardiac region, accompanied by a

great deal of distress. "The 'seizures' were . . . most readily

excited by exertion, and might be then so violent, that the

patient would fall to the ground insensible." "The rapid action

was often commented on; but a slow, hard beat of the

heart was also spoken of." The fits of palpitation were

associated with cardiac uneasiness and pain, headache,

dimness of vision, and giddiness.

Pain was an almost constant symptom;

If you read further about DaCosta's syndrome it was considered "malingering" or psychosomatic in soldiers and neurotic in women.

While this 1976 article finally takes these symptoms seriously, it never ceases to surprise me that over 100 years of medical knowledge still considers this to be a psychosomatic disorder. Even on Wikipedia, it is classified as merely a subset of anxiety disorder.

We've gone from DaCosta's to Soldier's Heart to Exertion Syndrome to Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome to POTS.

What I do find fascinating is the commonality of symptoms and onset---post viral onset, postural tachycardia and fainting in previously fit young adults.

Ah well, progress....

[shadesofgrey49]

Very interesting. So I have irritable bowel and irritable heart. I'm just plain irritable.