Myocarditis in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, 1880-1939.

ABSTRACT

From 1920 to 1940 in Minnehaha County there was an apparent striking increase in the incidence of fatal myocarditis and chronic myocarditis. Based on an analysis of the interment records of the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, word frequency studies in two prominent American medical journals and a general review of related medical publications, we explore this increase. We conclude that there was no actual increase in the frequency of inflammatory disorders of the myocardium in Minnehaha County during this period. Rather, it appears that the use of the diagnostic terms was a matter of choice among local physicians that was not supported by contemporaneous clinical and pathophysiologic publications in available journals.