| Empress Sissi and cardiac tamponade: an historical perspective. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 18949866 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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On September 10, 1898, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, known as Sissi, was stabbed with a stiletto knife in her chest by an Italian anarchist in Geneva, Switzerland, and died 1 hour later. The autopsy revealed a large clot in the pericardial sac due to a perforation of the left ventricular wall, and the report concluded, "Death was undoubtedly caused by a progressive and slow blood leak, sufficient to compress the heart and to suspend its functions." Since antiquity, wounds of the heart had been considered immediately fatal, until Paré observed a delayed death after a stab to the heart in the 16th century. The physiology of cardiac tamponade was then elucidated by Richard Lower in 1669. However, it was only in the 19th century that the main clinical features of cardiac tamponade were described and the first treatments attempted. Kussmaul identified its most important clinical hallmark, pulsus paradoxus, in 1873 and the term "tamponade of the heart" was coined for the first time by Rose in 1884. Romero and Larrey pioneered the open drainage of the pericardium early in the century, and Rehn performed the first successful surgical suture of a heart wound in 1896. In conclusion, logistics aside, medical knowledge at the end of the 19th century would have been theoretically sufficient to save the empress from death. |
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Authors:
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Philippe Meyer; Pierre-Frédéric Keller; David H Spodick |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The American journal of cardiology Volume: 102 ISSN: 1879-1913 ISO Abbreviation: Am. J. Cardiol. Publication Date: 2008 Nov |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2008-10-24 Completed Date: 2009-01-06 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0207277 Medline TA: Am J Cardiol Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 1278-80 Citation Subset: AIM; IM |
Affiliation:
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Cardiology Division, University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. philippe.meyer@hcuge.ch |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Cardiac Tamponade
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etiology,
history*,
therapy Female Heart Injuries / complications, history History, 16th Century History, 17th Century History, 18th Century History, 19th Century History, Ancient Humans Male Pericardial Effusion / complications, history Wounds, Stab / complications, history |
| Personal Name Subject | |
Personal Name Subject:
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Empress Elizabeth of Austria |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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