James Mackenzie (cardiologist)
| Sir James Mackenzie | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 12 April 1853 Scone, Scotland |
| Died |
26 January 1925 (aged 71) London, England |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Fields | Cardiology |
Sir James Mackenzie FRS FRCP (12 April 1853 – 26 January 1925) was a Scottish cardiologist who was a pioneer in the study of cardiac arrhythmias. Due to his work in the cardiac field he is known as a research giant in primary care, and was knighted by King George V in 1915.
James Mackenzie was born at Pictonhill in Scone, where his father was a farmer. He left school at Perth Academy at fourteen and was apprenticed to a chemist. In 1873 he was offered a partnership in the chemist's firm but turned it down in order to study medicine. After private tuition in Latin he passed his entrance examination for the University of Edinburgh in October 1874 and qualified as a doctor in 1878. After completing his residency in Edinburgh, Mackenzie became a general practitioner in borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England where he continued to practise medicine for more than a quarter of a century. While he was engaged in a busy practice, he made many original observations, completed his MD degree on hemi-paraplegia spinalis (awarded by Edinburgh University in 1882) and had many scientific papers published. During Mackenzie's initial research carried out in the Burnley general practice he corresponded and discussed his findings with other well known pioneers Wenkebach and Osler. Mackenzie's ongoing investigations led him to leave general practice and become a specialist cardiologist. He expressed prophetic concerns about the specialisation of medicine including cardiology stating 'I fear the day may come when a heart specialist will no longer be a physician looking at the body as a whole, but one with more and more complicated instruments working in a narrow and restricted area of the body - that was never my idea'.
In his early studies Mackenzie used Riva-Rocci's sphygmograph to graphically record the pulse. Later Mackenzie devised a "polygraph," that allowed him to make simultaneous records of the arterial and venous pulses. He used this to evaluate the condition of the heart and to measure the AV interval. In 1890 he discovered premature ventricular contractions and use of the polygraph enabled Mackenzie to make original distinctions between harmless and dangerous types of pulse irregularities (arrhythmias). Mackenzie also demonstrated the efficacy of Digitalis in the treatment of arrhythmias and made important contributions to the study of the energetics of the heart muscle.
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