Book Review
A Triumphant Voyage - Great Achievements in Cardiology
By C. Naseer Ahmad
Washington, DC
The heart plays a vital role in our lives - idiomatically, metaphorically and physically. Fortuitously, an eminent Pakistani cardiologist, Dr Riaz Haider, has written a delightful and heartwarming book - “A Triumphant Voyage” - that educates the readers not only about the science but also about important historical facts.
Idiomatically, we use “at heart” in emotional context, “by heart” when referring to memory such as “learning by heart,” “steal heart” in romantic context and “to have heart in the right place” when referring to intention, etc. Likewise, the heart occupies a focal point in songs and stories.
A simple search on the internet explains that physically the heart is the “chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood received from the veins into the arteries, thereby maintaining the flow of blood through the entire circulatory system.”
To educate the readers about the great achievements in Cardiology, the author discusses the ideas, human reason and inventions that have “led us to today - and toward tomorrow.” Providing an ethical foundation, he writes that “Confucius taught us a reliance on facts and reason asa guide to human affairs.” Building on the advancement of “idea of logical, scientific thinking,” Dr Haider reminds us about the contributions of the legends of the past like Aristotle, Avicenna/Ibn Sina, Copernicus, Galileo and Isaac Newton and many more on whose shoulders many discoverers, physicians and scientists stand.
Through this book, the reader will learn about seminal contributions in anatomy and physiology by William Harvey who solved the medical mystery. “He is the first known physician to have described completely and in detail the systematic circulation of the blood being pumped to the brain and body by the heart,” Dr Haider writes. The reader will learn that Harvey’s seventeenth century discovery not only gave proof of blood circulation but also measurement - thus giving the impetus to the rise of physiology.
Besides providing valuable and informative exhibits, Dr Haider provides rich and absorbing biographical information about William Harvey the pioneering physician.
The author takes the reader on a journey along the avenue of achievements - primarily in the 20th century- in Cardiology. Electricity played an important role as did engineering in many of these achievements. The chapter on electrocardiography is full of information about both history as well as scientific experiments. The reader will learn that Willem Einthoven, a Dutch physiology professor, is known as the developer of human electrocardiogram. After introducing this pioneering scientist, Dr Haider provides a brief history of electricity and electrophysiology of the heart. One learns about a number of other scientists and their experiments - like the first human “electrogram” recorded by Dr Augustus Waller.
The distinguishing characteristic of the book is that in describing some of the important developments in cardiology, Dr Haider provides valuable biographical information about some of the pioneers. In a number of cases, Dr Haider also mentions his personal interactions with luminaries in the field of Cardiology. For instance, while delivering a lecture at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1969 on “Health and Longevity in Hunza, Pakistan,” he writes about Dr Paul Dudley White - a pioneer in the prevention of heart disease: “We briefly engaged in conversation. Before we shook hands to say goodbye, Dr White gave me a re-print of an American Heart Journal article (1964) that he’d co-authored, on the longevity of the Hunza people.”
The cardiologists will obviously find a lot of familiar information in this book and they might even learn something from Dr Haider, who is a former clinical professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The feedback from the medical community can be felt by the words of Dr Roger Armour, a distinguished British surgeon. He said that the book “is a masterpiece and I can’t help feeling proud that it was written not only by a KEMC graduate but by a cherished class fellow. ALTA PETE flying high for 1956!”
Students of history will find many refreshing historical notes. Pioneering engineers might find some encouragement in their endeavors after reading how engineers and firms like International Business Machines (IBM) worked hand in hand with physicians to solve medical problems.
Since the book is so engaging, patients might find useful information to formulate questions and get encouragement after reading some success stories of patients of the pioneering physicians and health practitioners.
In writing this illuminating book, Dr Haider has done great public service for the community. He has proven to be a thoughtful and caring leader and an unassuming friendly thinker who is also very kind at heart.
