Circulatory Failure Due to Vitamin B Deficiency

Cases of cardiac failure due to deficiency in vitamin BI have been recognized in this country, and although the number of reported cases is small, their recognition is important since treatment by adequate doses of vitamin Bl is rapidly effective, whereas the usual methods of treatment fail. Most cases so far reported occurred in patients drinking too much alcohol and living on an inadequate diet, but a few were caused by deficient diet alone. Observations on thiee cases of " avitaminosis-Bl heart " showed some unusual features which seem to justify a communication. Two of the three drank too much alcohol, but in the remaining one the condition was caused solely by deficient diet.