THE FAMILY ASSOCIATION OF CARDIAC DISEASE, ACUTE RHEUMATIC FEVER, AND CHOREA

Abstract

The frequency with which cardiac disease is observed in two or more members of the same family is impressive, and investigation soon leads to the belief that this family association is far greater than may be accounted for by the laws of chance. Textbooks make note of a family predisposition to acute rheumatic fever, although little is said concerning disease of the heart or chorea (Sydenham's). The literature of the last ten years reveals little recent work on the subject. Although of great importance, the question as to whether cardiac disease is communicable and the means by which it is disseminated have excited little interest. In the recent war it was demonstrated that syphilis is rarely an etiologic factor in cardiac disease in persons under 35 years of age;¹and so few cases are observed to arise as a result of such infectious diseases as scarlatina, pneumonia and influenza