What kind of Disease of the Heart?

John Hartwell

Lt. Colonel
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Aug 27, 2011
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Central Massachusetts
Bernard Smith, Co. I, 15th Mass. was absent, "sick in hosp." for more than 5 months (and a POW for six months before that) when he was declared "incapable of performing the duties of a soldier" by reason of what kind of disease of the heart?
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The first thing that popped in my mind is what now a days is diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress. It was called Soldier’s Heart in that time period.

Of course I am probably wrong, and it probably actually has something to do with the condition of the individuals heart.

I am sure someone on this forum has the correct answer.
 
"Vascular disease of the heart"
Cardiology as a medical specialty did not yet exist, but there were physicians who recognized the "sounds and symptoms" specific to coronary artery disease.The modern stethoscope was just coming into popular use and physicians did not measure blood pressure - so hypertension was not yet a thing. Physicians treated heart disease based on the symptoms and how the physician had been trained. Although we gained a lot of knowledge about hygiene and communicable disease during the Civil War, there was very little advance in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
 
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