Cardiovascular experiences in an Army general hospital

Abstract

This report is a review of the cases of cardiovascular disease seen in an Army general hospital. To such a hospital gravitate the problem cases, the unusual conditions, cases requiring prolonged or special treament, and other cases for futher observation and disposition. Since cardiovascular diseases, by and large, fall into one or another of these categories, it is logical that a large percentage of these cases turning up in the Army eventually find their way to a general hospital. A review of such cases should be of interest in showing not only the type of cases encountered but also the problem of cardiovascular diseases in the Army. The material for this review consists of the cases admitted to the Lovell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, which is the Army general hospital serving the military installations in the New England states, upper New York state, and certain overseas bases. This hospital has been in operation for a little over two years and during this time has had approximately 10,000 admissions. Of this number, there were 440 cases of “organic” cardiovascular diseases and about an equal number of “functional” cardiovascular disorders. We have no information concerning the Army population from which these cases were drawn and hence can give no percentage incidence of these conditions in the Army. Further, it should be mentioned that, during the period covered by this report, the vast majority of the admissions to the hospital represented casualties of mobilization and training, few, if any, being related to actual combat. Except for a few pertinent observations, no detailed analysis of all of the data is presented, as such a presentation would be beyond the scope of this paper, which is primarily a general survey of the problem. With this in mind, the various types of diseases will be taken up and brief mention made of any salient features.