This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

History, Epidemiology, and Clinical Implications

Michael J. Horan, MD, ScM; Harold L. Kennedy, MD, MPH

JAMA. 1984;251(3):380-386.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

IS VENTRICULAR ectopy always a manifestation of a disease process or can it be found in normal persons? When present, should ventricular ectopy always be treated? To answer these questions, one must delve into medical history, a history rich in anecdote and opinion but muddled in its distinction between disease and health. We review herein the historical development of knowledge about, and attitudes toward, ventricular ectopy, the recent reports delineating patients with ventricular ectopy into prognostically different subsets, and the current approach to the treatment of patients with ventricular ectopy.

Historical Perspective

Although the art of palpating the pulse was practiced as early as 500 BC in ancient China,¹ it was not until the second century BC that Herophilus described what we now recognize as extrasystoles.² However, writers after Herophilus did not make reference to extrasystoles per se but rather talked about the "intermittent pulse." The most influential . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore (Dr Horan), and the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, St Louis University (Dr Kennedy).

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Johns Hopkins Hospital, Division of Internal Medicine, Harvey 402, 600 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205 (Dr Horan).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?