Do arrhythmias still deserve our intellectual efforts?: The 2002 Wenckebach Lecture of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology.

At the 74th meeting of the American Medical Association in San Francisco (1923) Professor Karel Frederik Wenckebach (figure 1) reported how favourably quinine converted atrial fibrillation. He honestly told the audience that his observations relied on the experience of a Dutch merchant who used to terminate his palpitations with quinine, a drug that he took daily for malaria while staying in the Dutch colonies. During his presentation he also emphasised that quinine worked better for atrial fibrillation of recent onset, an observation that is well known today. This story teaches us that simply listening to the patient and thinking about the significance of the patient's words can lead to diagnostic or therapeutic progress. Such a professional attitude is perfectly illustrated by Sir James Mackenzie's statement in 1918: 'The progress of medicine will be hampered, till the general practitioner becomes an investigator.'