Dr.S.Venkatesan MD

It was  the year 1812 ,  exactly 100 years before the Titanic sank  over the Atlantic  , a  small bulletin from  Massachusetts General Hospital was  released .  It  later on became  the  single most  important  journal  for the medical community.  The appearance of  an article about  angina pectoris in the inaugural issue ,   reiterates the  importance of cardiology  even in those   days of primitive  medical care .

The volume. 1  : No. 1  issue of NEJM egan with a classical and critical observation of angina pectoris written  by Jhon Warren .

http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM181201010010101

The first issue of NEJM . . . Witness to 200 years of medical excellence

Those were the days  when angina  was treated with tincture  opium and Fowler solution (Arsenic  potash ) .They  can be  termed as  height  of  inappropriateness  and  also  condemnable acts  . . .  is it not  ? 

200 years  later   . . .  in 2012  what  do you think has changed ,  in terms   of  appropriateness  of management   of angina pectoris  ?

What a surprise ,  two centuries  later ,  even as we are  treating  angina  in hi-tech cath labs  with bio-degradable stents and metabolic modulators   ,   bulk of our  population is  grappling with inappropriate therapy for angina pectoris .

Today ,patients are subjected to  questionable modalities  in the management of CAD ,  which the following paper   tries to expose !

Keeping the inappropriate flag high . . .200 years later in 2012

What a way to progress in Medicine !  The reason for this  “200 year  old ailment”  is  attributed to  extreme scarcity of common sense !

( A study , which says regular exercise  can be  as good as PTCA in multivessel CAD ,  would  sound  as a  “nonsense article”  for most  cardiologists  of  current  generation  !)

Finale

When we look  at human history , where billions  lived ( and continue to live ) in this  age old planet , it  would appear  a trivial matter  whether you treat angina pectoris with Tincture opium / Arsenical potash or  Prasugrel  / Rosuvsatin . . .

Whatever be the scientific advancement  the ultimate outcome on human health will depend on how we apply it. So, all young  medical fellows beware of this   !