HISTORY OF CARDIAC AND THORACIC SURGERY The origins of electrocardiography in Poland

Abstract

The progress of science and technology in the 19th century enabled better understanding of the electrical activity that occurs during a heartbeat. However, it was only the construction and introduction of the galvanometer that cleared the way for appropriate experimental and clinical studies. Marey, Waller, Wenckebach, Einthoven, and Pardee are just examples of the world's pioneers of electrocardiography. Polish researchers, including Cybulski, Eiger, Rzętkowski, Surzycki, and Latkowski, also contributed to the development of this area of study. The following article is a review aiming to reconstruct the origins of electrocardiography in Poland, both as a measurement method used in experiments and as a diagnostic tool in clinical studies conducted in the years preceding the outbreak of World War I.

Roots of modern cardiology in Poland

“…In cooperation with Cybulski Eiger proved that in an animal model, anaesthesia causes significant changes in the ECG curve. However, as the scientists stated, future observations in humans were crucial for further research [50]. Their report ends with the following statement (own translation): "One conclusion can undoubtedly be made on the basis of this research, namely that the electrocardiographic curve may serve as an objective criterion, as a test for the condition of the heart, both before and during anaesthesia."…”

“…Cybulski pioneered electrocardiography in Poland [50]. He considered ECG to be an excellent method for studying physiological phenomena in both normal and experimental conditions.…”

“…An equilibrium between anabolic and catabolic processes resulted in the balancing of potentials. It may be stated that it was in fact a biochemical concept for the regulation of the electrical processes occurring in a living organism [50,51]. In cooperation with Józef Surzycki, Cybulski conducted a series of experiments to establish the ECG characteristics of abnormal heart function caused by various diseases [52].…”

“…Their report ends with the following statement (own translation): "One conclusion can undoubtedly be made on the basis of this research, namely that the electrocardiographic curve may serve as an objective criterion, as a test for the condition of the heart, both before and during anaesthesia." [50,54].…”

“…In a beating bulb of the main artery and venous sinus, it was possible to register the characteristic R, S, and T waves. The final results of Eiger's research were published first in Polish, then in German [50,55,56]. In subsequent papers, he analysed the ECG curve as an algebraic sum of cardiac action currents, conducting his experiments on animals and comparing the results with human ECG recordings.…”