Dr. Howard Burchell Remembered

Abstract

Many reminiscences of Dr. Howard Burchell have appeared since his passing at 101 years of age late last year, the most recent by Dr. John Cantwell (Atlanta) in the American Journal of Cardiology. Allow me to add my own somewhat amusing recollection that comes from an interaction late in Dr. Burchell's life and long after his retirement. One day, I came upon Dr. Burchell by chance in the Abbott–Northwestern Medical Library. He was 91 years old at the time, sitting at a desk going through a stack of medical journals looking for the latest important insights. Dr. Burchell was a former editor-in-chief of Circulation (1965 to 1970) and a lifelong avid reader and analyzer of the cardiology literature, even after he had ceased working directly with patients. At the moment I saw him, Dr. Burchell was reading one of our recent papers about commotio cordis (ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death from nonpenetrating and often innocent precordial blows), a clinical entity that was new to him, and he particularly appreciated novel ideas. As always, he was complimentary about the work and then quite unexpectedly proceeded to raise his right fist and direct it aggressively toward his chest wall, announcing, “I am going to try it, I have lived a long life.” Naturally, I grabbed his arm and prevented the blow. To this day, although I am not absolutely certain, I believe this incident only reflected Dr. Burchell's congeniality, good humor, and inquisitiveness—and, of course, he knew I would stop him. Indeed, he was a great man and physician who deserves to be remembered. Thinking of Dr. Howard BurchellAmerican Journal of CardiologyVol. 105Issue 10PreviewThe recent reminiscences on Dr. Howard Burchell brought to mind several of my own, while a medical resident at the Mayo Clinic from 1966 to 1968. Full-Text PDF