Prognosis in Paroxysmal Tachycardia and Paroxysmal Auricular Fibrillation

In 1888, Bristowe wrote of " Recurrent palpitations of extreme rapidity in persons otherwise healthy "; he was, however, extremely guarded as to the correct prognosis in this condition, seeing that six out of nine of the cases he described died before their time. Similarly, two of the three cases recorded by Bouveret (1889) died of congestive failure during an actual paroxysm. Indeed the early reports are characterized by the number of fatal cases, so that it is not surprising to find Herringham (1897) writing " when one sees a robust and healthy person subject to these attacks, it is tempting to make light of them, but this ought never to be done. The condition seems always to tend to get worse and, in the end, to kill."