Rhythms of Broken Hearts : History, Manifestations, and Treatment of Heart Rhythm Disorders and Heart Disease

This book provides an overview of the history, manifestations, and treatment of heart disease and heart rhythm disorders. In addition, it covers the effects on the lives of patients, coping mechanisms, and relationships with doctors, family, religion, and death. The book uniquely intersects the fields of medicine, literature, science, and art. Chapters begin by familiarizing the reader with the historical aspects of manifestations and treatment – discussing both scientific and psychological aspects of the disease. Chapters also discuss the evolution of several treatment modalities. Every chapter of the book contains interesting and evocative patient stories and their treatment. Rhythms of Broken Hearts will be of interest to a wide spectrum of health care practitioners as well as to patients and related family members with interest in understanding their symptoms and disease entity. _____________________________________________________________________ In Rhythm of Broken Hearts, Dr. Gomes distills a multifaceted perspective with a unique story that knits history, physiology, emotion, and wisdom. Jonathan L. Halperin, M.D. If you ever have a broken heart -- romantic or medical -- you will be totally absorbed in this dazzling multicultural read. Grace Schulman Dr. Gomes’s affinity and empathy for his patients and their stories narrated in this book, make universal the experiences of illness that we all must navigate at some point in our lives. Jeremy N. Ruskin, MD Praise for Rhythms of Broken Hearts Books by J. Anthony Gomes, MD Author’s Note Preface Acknowledgments Contents Part I: The Mythology of the Human Heart Chapter 1: Romanticizing the Heart Ancient Egyptian View of the Heart Ancient Indian View of the Heart Ancient Greek View of the Heart Ancient Islamic View of the Heart The Renaissance Heart William Harvey’s View of the Heart The Heart as Metaphor Chapter 2: The Mysteries of the Age-Old Pulse The Rosetta Stone of Ancient Egyptian Medicine Classifying the Pulse: Ancient Asian Medicine Dissections and Clepsydras: The Ancient Greeks and Romans Avicenna and Maimonides The Pulsilogium and the Stopwatch Current Understanding of the Pulse Conclusions Part II: The Renaissance Period in Heart Rhythm Disorders Chapter 3: Demystifying the Heart The Cartography of the Heart The Search for the Command Center The Org Chart of Control Inside the Command Fibers Chapter 4: Understanding Heart Rhythm Disorders: The Birth of the ECG and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology The Code of the Electrocardiogram (ECG) Starting and Stopping Heartbeats Tapping the Signals From Within the Heart Enter Dr. Benjamin Scherlag, Ph.D. The USPHS Hospital and Its Electrophysiology Laboratory Dr. Anthony N. Damato: The Grandfather of Clinical Electrophysiology Part III: Galloping Away in the Atrium Chapter 5: Living with a Galloping Heart George Ralph Mines and the Circles of PSVT Maria’s PSVT Identifying Maria’s Syndrome What Causes WPW Syndrome? Maria’s Life-Threatening Complication The Commonest Supraventricular Tachycardia The Case of Antoinette Chapter 6: Radical Ideas: The Road to Conquering Supraventricular Tachycardia The Road to Ending PSVT The Attempt to Save Diane Catheters and Radio Waves Diane and Her Secret Companion Antoinette’s Curative Ablation of AVNRT The Management of AVNRT Chapter 7: Atrial Fibrillation: The Heart’s Tap Dance Triggers and Genes The Cost of Atrial Fibrillation The Insidious Upshots of Atrial Fibrillation Evolution of Clot Prevention in AF Treatment The Story of Warfarin The New Anticoagulants Preventing Strokes in Patients with AF New Devices for Stroke Prevention Evolution of Rhythm and Rate Control in AF Cardioversion The Story of Maze Medical Societies and Their Guidelines Ablation: Fire and Ice Treating Marjorie Chapter 8: The Sawtooth Rhythm: Atrial Flutter The Story of the Purple Foxglove (Digitalis) The Road to Definitive Treatment Part IV: Abnormal Rhythms Arising from the Ventricles Chapter 9: The Elusive Ventricular Extra-Beat The Origins of VPCs Martha: Anxiety Versus VPCs The Rock and the Mountain VPC-Induced Cardiomyopathy From Killer Treatments to No Treatment to Ablation Chapter 10: A Catastrophic Event: Sudden Cardiac Death Profile of the Dark Prince Who Is Most Susceptible? Treatment of SCD Acute Management Management of Survivors of SCD Chapter 11: Strange Occurrences in Life’s Channels The Magic of DNA Lights, Cameras, and Sudden Death Killer Alarm Clocks A Lethal Request: CVPT Death Preceded by a Scream in Sleep: The Brugada Syndrome Chapter 12: A Heartbreaking Calamity: Sudden Death in the Athlete The Effect of Athletics on the Heart Causes of SCD in Athletes The Ungluing Disease: ARVD Commotio Cordis Which Athletes Are at Risk? The Pre-screening Battle Looking Forward Chapter 13: Conquering the Arrhythmic Substrate: The Scalpel and the Source Deciphering Mechanisms: The Search for the Substrate Dr. Hein J.J. Wellens: Starting and Stopping VT Mark Josephson: The Scalpel and the Source Historical Evolution of Surgery: The Philadelphia Peel Evelyn and the Countless Shocks Chapter 14: A Revolutionary Idea: The Implantable Defibrillator: A Lifesaver From Mordechai Friedman to Michel Mirowski The Inspiration Development of the Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) The Boy from Colombia Kathy’s Blackout Spell Chapter 15: To Freeze and Not to Fry Chapter 16: Of Scintillating Lights, Tunnels, and Astral Encounters Is There a Biological Explanation for NDEs? The Concept of Mass/Energy Applied to the Afterlife Part V: The Break Down Chapter 17: The Broken Heart Voodoo and the Octopus Pot Part VI: The Slow Down Chapter 18: The Ubiquitous Faint The Impact of Syncope Paradoxes of the Common Faint The Tilt and the Monitor Treatment of Recurrent Fainting Chapter 19: The Stuttering Maestro: The Sick Sinus The Sick Sinus Pathophysiology of the Sick Sinus The Exhausted Student Chapter 20: Of Disconnected Highways: Heart Blocks The Highway in the Heart First Degree: “If the R Is Far from P” Second Degree Type I: “Longer, Longer, Longer, Drop!” Second Degree Type II: “If Some P’s Just Don’t Go Through” Third Degree: “If P’s and Q’s Just Don’t Agree” Causes of Heart Blocks A Case of Stokes-Adams Syndrome Part VII: A Brand-New Rhythm: A Brand-New Heart Chapter 21: The Artificial Pacemaker: A Life-Giver The Implantable Pacemaker The Future of the Cardiac Pacemaker The Biventricular Pacemaker for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) Chapter 22: When All Is Said and Done: Waiting for a Heart Transplant The Story of Cyclosporine Linda and the Wait Transplants Today Carol and the Tetralogy Part VIII: The Quest to Overcome Heart Attacks Chapter 23: Of Bypasses and Clot Busters The Heart Surgeon and the Bypass The Discovery of Thrombosis in Acute Myocardial Infarction The Clot Busters The Bug and the Clot Buster The Story of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA—Activase) Chapter 24: A Riveting New Era: The Birth of Interventional Cardiology Balloons in the Bloodstream The Cowboy Cardiologist Tubes Within Tubes: The Stent Story Pedro Sanchez Today Stents or Bypasses or Conservative Medical Treatment? Mortality Reduction in Coronary Artery Disease Part IX: Stories of Survival Chapter 25: A Family Affair Chapter 26: Cruising Through Complications of a Heart Attack Chapter 27: A Missed Diagnosis: A Lifetime of Endurance The Terrorist Attack Clara’s Heart Failure Solving the Puzzle Chapter 28: Old Age: How Long Should We Hope to Live? The Consequences of Aging Is There Compression or Expansion of Morbidity with Age? The Scourge of COVID-19 End-of-Life Issues Part X: Heart Care Chapter 29: Some Heart Care Advice to Live By What to Do If Illness Strikes About the Author Notes Authors Note Preface Part I: The Mythology of the Human Heart Romanticizing the Heart The Mysteries of the Age-Old Pulse Part II: The Renaissance Period in Heart Rhythm Disorders Demystifying the Heart Understanding Heart Rhythm Disorders: The Birth of Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Part III: Galloping Away in the Atrium Living With a Galloping Heart Radical Ideas: The Road to Conquering Supraventricular Tachycardia Atrial Fibrillation: The Heart’s Tap Dance The Sawtooth Rhythm: Atrial Flutter Part IV: Abnormal Rhythms Arising from the Ventricles The Elusive Extrabeat A Catastrophic Event: Sudden Cardiac Death Strange Occurrences in Life’s Channels A Heart Braking Calamity: Sudden Death in the Athlete Conquering the Arrhythmia Substrate: The Scalpel and the Source A Revolutionary Idea: The Implantable Defibrillator─A Lifesaver To Freeze and Not to Fry Of Scintillating Lights, Tunnels, and Astral Encounters Part V: The Break Down The Broken Heart Part VI: The Slow Down The Ubiquitous Faint The Stuttering Maestro: The Sick Sinus Of Disconnected Highways: AV Blocks Part VII: A Brand-New Rhythm: A Brand-New Heart The Artificial Pacemaker: A Life Giver When All Is Said and Done: Waiting for a Heart Transplant Part VIII: The Quest to Overcome Heart Attacks Of Bypasses and Clot Busters A Riveting New Era: The Birth of Interventional Cardiology Part IX: Stories of Survival A Family Affair Cruising Through Complications of a Heart Attack A Missed Diagnosis: A Lifetime of Endurance Old Age: How Long Should We Hope to Live? Part X: Heart Care Some Heart Care Advice to Live By Selected Bibliography Romanticizing the Heart The Mysteries of the Age-Old Pulse Demystifying the Heart Understanding Heart Rhythm Disorders: The Birth of the ECG and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Living with a Galloping Heart Radical Ideas: The Road to Conquering Supraventricular Tachycardia Atrial Fibrillation: The Heart’s Tap Dance The Sawtooth Rhythm: Atrial Flutter The Elusive Extrabeat A Catastrophic Event: Sudden Cardiac Death Strange Occurences in Life’s Channels A Heartbraking Calamity: Sudden Death in the Athlete Conquering the Arrhythmia Substrate: The Scalpel and the Source A Revolutionary Idea: The Implantable Defibrillator─A Lifesaver To Freeze and Not to Fry Of Scintillating Lights, Tunnels, and Astral Encounters The Broken Heart The Ubiquitous Faint The Stuttering Maestro: The Sick Sinus Of Disconnected Highways: Heart Blocks The Artificial Pacemaker: A Life-Giver When All Is Said and Done: Waiting for a Heart Transplant Of Bypasses and Clot Busters A Riveting New Era: The Birth of Interventional Cardiology A Family Affair Cruising through Complications of a Heart Attack A Missed Diagnosis: A Lifetime of Endurance Old Age: How Long Should We Hope to Live? Some Heart Care Advice to Live By Index