Classics in ECT: ECT and Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm: Case Report in Am J Psych, 1957

 "Classics in ECT" brings you this case report from the American Journal of Psychiatry, from 1957:

Electroshock therapy and aortic aneurysm.

WOLFORD JA.Am J Psychiatry. 1957 Jan;113(7):656. doi: 10.1176/ajp.113.7.656.PMID: 13394736

The pdf is here.

Here is an early report of of a large number of ECT administered to a patient with a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Unfortunately, there are no details of the ECT technique or anesthesia, and it is unclear if the patient's demise from aneurysmal rupture was ECT-related. This turns out to be one of the earliest reports of maintenance ECT, and the conclusion is that the patient was given several good years of life by having had the ECT. (Please see also blog post of June 14, 2022)

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