Heart defect detectionIn 1961, the success of a mass-screening field-test for the detection of heart defects in children was announced by the American Heart Association. A child's tape-recorded heart sounds were amplified and filtered, so distinctive murmers and abnormal sounds could be recognized. The system “permits a relatively few trained cardiologists to rapidly screen large numbers of children” and “finds heart disease with an accuracy of 91 percent,” reported the New York Times the next day. From Apr 1959 to Jul 1960, with equipment housed in a trailer and moved between Chicago schools, 33,026 children were recorded. Of these 506 were indentified for further examination, and 64 of those were followed up, some with corrective surgery. Such ailments as rheumatic disease and inborn defects are best treated in childhood.« |
