William Dressler
William (Wilhelm) Dressler (1890 – 1969) was a Jewish-American cardiologist.
Dr W Dressler published numerous articles and textbooks on cardiology and electrocardiography. Dressler’s Clinical Cardiology (1942) became a classic book of cardiological diagnosis.
As Director of Cardiology at Maimonides Medical Centre, Dressler identified a post-myocardial infarction syndrome eponymously ascribed with his name – Dressler Syndrome (1956).
He is also eponymous with Dressler beat (1952), which he described as a ‘ventricular fusion beat‘ in the presence of paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia.
Biography
- Born 9 August 1890, Vienna, Austria
- 1915 – Achieved MD qualification, University of Vienna, Austria
- 1934 – Cardiologist in Vienna
- 1938 – Emigrated to the USA as a refugee
- 1938-67 – Director of the cardiology clinic and electrocardiographic laboratory at Maimonides Medical Center, New York, USA
- Died 10 October 1969, New York, USA
Medical Eponyms
Dressler beat (1952)
A ‘ventricular fusion beat’ in the presence of paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia.
Dressler syndrome (1956)
Pericarditis occurring up to 10 weeks following a myocardial infarction, also referred to as post myocardial infarction syndrome (PMIS)
Controversies
Note: Dressler syndrome (1854) – intermittent haemoglobinuria associated with haemolytic disorders was described by Lucas A Dressler. (Dressler LA. Ein Fall von intermittirender Albuminurie und Chromaturie. Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin. 1854;6:264-266)
Despite later publishing research on the success of cardiac pacemakers, Dr W Dressler was initially reluctant to his Maimonides Medical Centre colleague’s (Dr A Kantrowitz) idea of implanting a self-made pacemaker into his patient with Adams-Stokes syndrome. Dressler was said to have approached the hospital director to dismiss the pacemaker insertion, stating “that man [Kantrowitz] is too much. He wants to put a battery in my patient!”
Major Publications
- Frank L, Dressler W. Der Streber und andere Erzählungen. 1928
- Dressler W. Klinische Elektrokardiographie mit einem Grundriss der Arhythmien; eine Einführung für Studierende und Aerzte. Urban & Schwarzenberg. 1930.
- Dressler W. Die Brustwandpulsationen : als Symptome von Herz- und Gefässkrankheiten. Verlag. 1930.
- Dressler W. Klinische Elektrokardiographie mit einem Grundriss der Arhythmien. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin. 1930
- Dressler W. Atlas der klinischen Elektrokardiographie, mit Anleitungen zur Differentialdiagnose. Urban & Schwarzenberg. 1936
- Dressler W. Clinical Cardiology. Hoeber. 1942
- Dressler W, Roesler H. An atlas of electrocardiography. Springfield. 1949
- Dressler W, Roesler H, Lackner H. The significance of notched upright T waves. Br Heart J. 1951 Oct;13(4):496-502.
- Dressler W, Roesler H. The occurrence in paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia of ventricular complexes transitional in shape to sinoauricular beats: A diagnostic aid. Am Heart J. 1952 Oct;44(4):485-93. [Dressler beat]
- Dressler W. Post-Myocardial Infarction Syndrome: Preliminary Report of a Complication Resembling Idiopathic, Recurrent, Benign Pericarditis. JAMA. 1956;160(16):1379-1383. [Dressler syndrome]
- Dressler W. The post-myocardial-infarction syndrome: a report on forty-four cases. AMA Arch Intern Med. 1959 Jan;103(1):28-42
- Dressler W. Transient bundle branch block occurring during slowing of the heart beat and following gagging. Am Heart J. 1959; 58: 760-764.
- Dressler W, Leavitt SS. Pericarditis after acute myocardial infarction. Relapses over period of twenty-eight months. JAMA. 1960 Jul 16;173:1225-6.
- Dressler W. Existenz und Arbeit: das Problem der Konkretion des abstrakten Existenzbegriffes in der Philosophie J.P. Sartres. 1969
- Dressler W. Clinical aids in cardiac diagnosis. Grune & Stratton. 1970
References
Biography
- William Dressler, A Heart Specialist. New York Times, Oct 12, 1969: 86.
Eponymous terms
- Weisse AB. Heart to Heart: The Twentieth Century Battle Against Cardiac Disease: an Oral History. Rutgers University Press, 2002.
- Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Blumesberger S, Doppelhofer M, Mauthe G. Handbuch österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren jüdischer Herkunft 18. bis 20. Jahrhundert: S-Z : 8923-11742, Register, Volume 3. Saur, 2002; 237-238.
eponym
the person behind the name
Doctor in Australia. Keen interest in internal medicine, medical education, and medical history.