Lecturer Debunks Popular Ideas of Cardiac Ailments

Alcohol in moderation does not harm the heart, tobacco does not cause heart disease, and aspirin is harmless, Paul D. White, lecturer on Medicine, said in a lecture Sunday at the Medical School.

"Athlete's heart is mostly a myth", he announced, debunking the effects of sports on the heart as well as a number of other notions and fancies.

The heart is a strong and tough muscle, he explained, and not delicate like the brain or liver. "It has been too much feared and coddled simply because it does happen to be the most vital organ," he stated.

Trouble Not Permanent

Even when the heart is once affected it is not certain that there is permanent trouble ahead, White said. Very often there is excellent recovery in the course of days, weeks, months, or years.

Even the New England climate and the exercise of stair climbing were described by the speaker as non-harmful, and it does not hurt the heart to sleep on the left side.

On the other hand, he said, all murmurs must be assessed with the greatest of care. Most of them are unimportant and often only temporary, however, and sometimes the loudest murmurs are of the least importance.