Key result
Historical necropsy data demonstrated an incidence of non-specific inflammatory change in the myocardium of 3.5% among all necropsies, highlighting myocarditis as an important cause of death.
Historical review highlighting that adequate microscopical examination of the heart reveals a 3.5% incidence of myocarditis at necropsy, stimulating investigation into cardiomyopathies.
Does not support practice changes in myocarditis evaluation; leaves open its contribution to cardiomyopathies in modern cohorts.
During the nineteenth century myocarditis was a common clinical diagnosis. When necropsies were performed more frequently, confirmation of myo- carditis was not often obtained and the diagnosis fell into disrepute. Interest in the condition was reawakened as a result of the work of Saphir, chiefly carried out in the 1920s and since. He demonstrated convincingly that non-specific in- flammatory change in the myocardium was an im- portant cause of death. He estimates that, provided that adequate numbers of microscopical sections of the heart are examined, there is an incidence of 3.5 per cent among all necropsies This knowledge is of more than academic interest as it has helped to stimulate the investigation of unusual forms of cardiac disease, particularly the so-called cardiomyopathies.
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Hayes et al. (1966) conducted a review in Myocarditis. Historical necropsy data demonstrated an incidence of non-specific inflammatory change in the myocardium of 3.5% among all necropsies, highlighting myocarditis as an important cause of death.
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