George E. Burch

George Edward Burch, M.D. (1910–1986) was a shaper of modern cardiology during the middle part of the twentieth century, whose accomplishments included elucidating the fundamental physiological basis of important cardiovascular diseases, in addition to contributions to the teaching of medicine and cardiology. He was chairman of the Department of Medicine at Tulane University for many years. He is best known for his research in electrocardiography and vectorcardiography, for contributions to understanding viral-based cardiovascular diseases, for 12 books in the field of medicine and cardiology, and for more than 850 publications in the scholarly literature. He is also credited with the invention of the phlebomanometer, an instrument for measuring pressure in small veins. He elucidated effects of climate on the cardiovascular system and on congestive heart failure. He was a pioneer in the use of radioisotopes as tracers in medical research . Additionally Burch had wide influence as editor of the American Heart Journal (1959–82) and was an early anti-smoking activist.

The American Journal of Cardiology published a historical study of George E. Burch shortly after his death. A detailed biography of George E. Burch was published in 2010. An on-line biography is maintained by the Association of University Cardiologists. He has also been memorialized at Tulane University Medical Center in their organization of former internal medicine residents, the Musser-Burch Society. A bronze bust of George E. Burch by sculptor Jean Seidenberg is prominent in the main lobby of Tulane University School of Medicine . An oil painting, Portrait of George E. Burch, by artist George Rodrigue, resides at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Heritage and early life

Burch was born on January 10, 1910, as the oldest of 8 siblings in Edgard, Louisiana, a river community that is part of the German Coast of Louisiana, of heritage emigrating from French provincial Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in the early 1850s. Burch's research on the biokinetics of basic metabolites such as water, sodium, potassium, and other ionic species extended to diseases exacerbated in subtropical climates such as are extant in the southern United States. Two crucial periods in his career as a medical researcher were his 1939 - 1941 fellowship at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and his 1948 service in the United Kingdom as a scientific officer of the US Foreign Service Reserve.

Burch was certified in the field of Internal Medicine in 1940 by the American Board of Internal Medicine, one of the earliest physicians to earn such certification, as specialist certification was nascent at the time. He guided the development of the certification process beginning in 1941 when he started organizing the oral examinations. He continued service to the Subspecialty Boards and other certification processes through much of his career. With medical school dean Charles C. Bass , he likewise instituted a section on Dental Health within the medical school, an action that remains uncommon today. and the ECG pattern characteristic of certain cerebrovascular diseases. Working with the extensive patient population of Charity Hospital, he was instrumental in the discovery of Hemoglobin SS and its relevance to Sickle Cell Disease. Burch was an early pioneer in the use of radioisotopes for diagnostic purposes and for understanding fundamental physiological processes, focusing on electrolyte metabolism in congestive heart failure. He held License Number 1 for the civilian use of radioisotopes.

Through his association with William T. Kirby, then chairman of the MacArthur Foundation, Burch conceived of the idea of the Foundation's Fellows Program.

Legacy

The National Library of Medicine maintains a selection of Burch's works. The Tulane University History of Medicine Society also maintains selected information.

Burch authored or co-authored 851 journal articles during his tenure at Tulane University. His publications in The Journal of the American Medical Association can be found on-line.

Additional honors include the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1951 and the AMA Scientific Achievement Award in 1986.

The Tulane University School of Medicine graduating class of 1974, in association with former awardees of the Tulane's "Order of the Gold-Tipped Stethoscope", compiled a small red book, "The Quotations of Chairman George", in his honor.

The Smithsonian Institution administers the George E. Burch Fellowship in Theoretical Medicine and Affiliated Sciences.

The Matas Library of Tulane University School of Medicine maintains a collection of Burch's artifacts from his father's rural medical practice.

Books

G.E. Burch and T. Winsor, A Primer of Electrocardiography, Lea & Febiger publ. 1945; 2nd ed 1949, 3rd ed 1955, 4th ed 1960, 5th ed 1966, 6th ed 1972. Published in English, French, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Italian, Serbo-Croat, Greek, Japanese, and Turkish. G.E. Burch and P. Reaser, A Primer of Cardiology, Lea & Febiger publ. 1947, 2nd ed 1953, 3rd ed 1963, 4th ed 1971. Published in English and Japanese. Reaser co-author of first edition only. G.E. Burch, A Primer of Venous Pressure, Lea & Febiger publ. 1950. Second printing Charles C. Thomas 1972. G.E. Burch, J.A. Abildskov, J.A. Cronvich, Spatial Vectorcardiography, Lea & Febiger publ. 1953. G.E. Burch, A Primer of Congestive Heart Failure (American Lecture Series), Charles C. Thomas publ, 1954. G.E. Burch, Digital Plethysmography, Grune and Sratton publ, 1954. G.E. Burch, Of Publishing Scientific Papers, Grune and Stratton publ, 1954. G.E. Burch, Of Research People, Grune and Stratton publ, 1955. G.E. Burch and N. DePasquale, A Primer of Clinical Measurement of Blood Pressure, C.V. Mosby publ., 1962. G.E. Burch and N. DePasquale, Hot Climates, Man and His Heart, Charles C. Thomas publ., 1962. G.E. Burch and N. DePasquale, A History of Electrocardiography, The Year Book Publishers, 1964. G.E. Burch and N. DePasquale, Electrocardiography in the Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease, Lea & Febiger publ., 1967.

Awards and honors

1946 Award from the Mexican National Assembly of Surgeons for Distinguished Science, on plethysmography 1947 Gold Medal Award from the American Medical Association for his work on the mechanism of congestive heart failure as elucidated by radioisotope studies James B. Herrick Award of the American Heart Association Distinguished Fellowship Award of the American College of Cardiology Willard O. Thompson Award of the American Geriatrics Society 1970 Chest Journal Festschrift 1986 Scientific Achievement Award of the American Medical Association 1987 American Journal of Cardiology Festschrift