RT Journal
A1 KING JT, Jr.
T1 A study of the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in soldiers with irritable heart
JF Archives of Internal Medicine
JO Archives of Internal Medicine
YR 1919
FD August 1
VO 24
IS 2
SP 238
OP 241
DO 10.1001/archinte.1919.00090250111003
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinte.1919.00090250111003
AB There is a superficial resemblance between the symptoms of "irritable heart of soldiers" and those of active pulmonary tuberculosis. Ready fatigue, breathlessness, tendency to excessive sweating, tachycardia, and symptoms of asthenia are common to the two conditions. Pain in the left chest, however, which is one of the commonest symptoms of irritable heart, is not characteristic of pulmonary tuberculosis. In the careful study of the history of men with irritable heart, a back-ground of neurotic symptoms, neurologic disease, mental inferiority, emotional instability or psychic maladjustments is almost invariably discovered. Such conditions are, of course, not characteristic of pulmonary tuberculosis.In a recent report, Warfield and Smith1 found evidences of pulmonary tuberculosis in a large number of men with the diagnosis of irritable heart or some other synonym of "soldiers' heart." In 235 cases of irritable heart, pulmonary tuberculosis was found in eighty-eight. In forty-one cases, exercise brought out positive chest