History of Arrhythmia: When Was It First Recognized?
Arrhythmia recognition spans millennia:
- Ancient: Chinese pulse diagnosis (Huangdi Neijing, ~200 BCE) described irregular pulse. Hippocrates (5th c. BCE) noted "intermission of the pulse."
- 17th–18th Century: Stephen Hales (1733) measured blood pressure; Jean-Baptiste de Sénac (1749) described "palpitation."
- 19th Century: Laennec (stethoscope) correlated sounds with rhythm. William Stokes & Adams (Adams-Stokes attacks). Einthoven (1901) invented ECG — revolutionized diagnosis.
- Modern: Electrophysiology studies, catheter ablation, ICDs, genetic channelopathies.
Hippocrates' "intermission" is the earliest Western textual reference.
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