Functional and sympathetic affections of the heart : a paper read before the Society of Statistical Medicine / by John W. Corson ; from the New-York journal of medicine for January, 1854.

  • Corson, John W.
Date:
1854
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Functional and sympathetic affections of the heart : a paper read before the Society of Statistical Medicine / by John W. Corson ; from the New-York journal of medicine for January, 1854. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    donna; to cat sparingly of meat at dinner alone, to avoid violent exer- cise, and to walk much, moderately. He soon recovered. A corpulent, healthy engraver, having run violently to overtake a coach, brought on severe palpitation of the heart, exhaustion, and difficult breathing, which remained for several days, and were not relieved, until after blood-letting, leeches, and antimonials had been employed.* Congestion of the heart from revulsion.—Any local agency which disturbs the equilibrium, and causes special determination of blood, may be termed revulsive. A moment's reflection on the number and size of the superficial veins, and the quantity of the blood they natu- rally contain, will show us the importance of the circulation on the surface of the body. Thus we aid this and relieve internal organs by sinapisms, pediluvia and diaphoretics. Cold, by an opposite action, drives the blood from the surface, and overloads the internal organs. In a large hospital of this city, it is stated they can tell a very cold day in winter by the extra number of cases of apoplexy. On the principle of relieving this internal conges- tion, Dr. Macintosh bled during the chill of ague. So, too, we forbid sudden cold baths to patients liable to apoplexy or disease of the heart. They have sometimes produced immediate death, or trouble- some palpitation. A gouty gentleman, after sea-bathing, had pain, palpitation, and violent impulse of the heart, with small pulse, for months, which were at last completely relieved by antimonials. Cold substances taken into the stomach may derange the circula- tion. A case is quoted of a strong, healthy young man, heated with mowing, who drank freely of cold water, and was suddenly prostrated, with difficult breathing, loss of vision, and cold extremities, while, for the next three days, notwithstanding the attempt to relieve congestion by small bleedings, warm baths, and saline purgatives, there were over- action, and intermission of the heart, with an oppressed pulse, ranging from 14 to 50 beats per minute.—He slowly improved for the next four days, and at the end of the week the natural circulation was re- stored.! Hot food, rapidly swallowed, has produced like effects. A young man, after eating a very hot potatoe, became insensible, finally rallied, * TVardrop. t Am. Med. Repository.