VDH & DAH

[Paul Johnson]

My Grandafther was admitted to No.2 General Hospital suffering with Valvular Disease of the Heart (VDH). Two other RE IWT O/R's were admitted on the same day suffering with DAH.

Does anyone know what DAH is?

Regards

PAUL JOHNSON

[ypres1418]

Paul,

cant quite put my finger on my nurses dictionary but will look when i get the chance,

it is not something we use now, but quite possible that we have given it a new name,

Mandy

[Sue Light]

Paul

DAH is 'Disordered Action of the Heart' otherwise known as 'Soldier's Heart' or 'Effort Syndrome' and was thought to result from a combination of over exertion, mental stress and fatigue. Whereas VDH suggests a physical abnormality of the heart - perhaps due to something like rheumatic fever in childhood, DAH was attributed to cardiac problems where there was some abnomality of rhythm and rate etc., but no firm signs of organic disease.

Perhaps a soldier's heart a-fluttering in his chest - and can you wonder at it?

Sue

[Paul Johnson]

Mandy/Sue,

Thank you for your replies.

It just appears odd to me that 3 men should be admitted to a General Hospital, all on the same day, all from an IWT Unit and all suffering from heart problems.

I could be making something out of nothing but it does seem strange.

Regards

PAUL J

[Sue Light]

It was fairly common:

The importance of the effort syndrome can be gathered from the fact that 2,503 out of 33,919, or 7.4 per cent, of the soldiers and sailors invalided from the services from the beginning of the war up to May 31st 1916, were discharged on account of ‘heart disease,’ and by May 1918 the number had risen to 36,569. The problem of invaliding on account of ‘soldier’s heart’ became such a serious one that the War Office and Medical Research Council arranged for the segregation of heart cases at the Hampstead Hospital under Thomas Lewis. Later the work was transferred to Colchester, and finally centres were established for heart cases in each home command. At the same time it became recognised in France that many cases were being sent to England with an erroneous diagnosis of valvular disease of the heart and still more with trivial cardiac symptoms. In 1916 all cases sent to one base diagnosed as V.D.H. and D.A.H. were collected in a single centre under Colonel W. E. Hume, and in 1917 similar centres were started at four other bases. At these centres D.A.H. was so successful that 50 per cent of cases were detained for duty in France, but far too many escaped diagnosis and reached England without having passed through any heart centre.

Medical Diseases of the War

Sir Arthur Hurst

Butler and Tanner 1918

Sue

[Paul Johnson]

Sue,

Thank You very much for this, it was really helpful.

Now I am begining to wonder if my grandfather ever had a diseased heart. He died in 1964 by which time he was 76 years old. Not a bad innings really for someone who was diagnosed with heart trouble at the age of 30.

(I'm still looking for that evasive Unit he served with.)

Regards

PAUL JOHNSON