Samuel Albert Levine (January 1, 1891 – March 31, 1966) was an American

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular ...

. The

Levine scale In cardiac physiology, the Levine grading scale is a numeric scoring system to characterize the intensity or the loudness of a heart murmur. The eponym is from researcher Samuel A. Levine who studied the significance of systolic heart murmurs. The ...

, Levine's sign and

Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome (LGL) is a pre-excitation syndrome of the heart. Those with LGL syndrome have episodes of abnormal heart racing with a short PR interval and normal QRS complexes seen on their electrocardiogram when in a normal si ...

are named after him. The Samuel Albert Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital is named in his honor.

Biography

Levine was born January 1, 1891, in Łomża, Poland, and was brought to the United States at age three. He graduated from Harvard University at the age of 20, and received a medical degree from Harvard in 1914. In his final year of medical school, he was chosen to do clinical research at

Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two f ...

in Boston. He served as an associate in medicine there and at the Rockefeller Institute. In 1916, Levine was one of two young physicians recruited by the Harvard Infantile Paralysis Commission to cope with the caseload of that year's poliomyelitis epidemic. In August 1921, Levine gave advice in the case of

Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness Franklin D. Roosevelt, later the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, began experiencing symptoms of a paralytic illness in 1921 when he was 39 years old. His main symptoms were fever; symmetric, ascending paralysis; facial par ...

. He was the first to diagnose it as

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

. Levine was appointed assistant professor of medicine at Harvard in 1930, and physician at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in 1940. He was clinical professor of medicine at Harvard from 1948 until his retirement in 1958. He was a consultant in cardiology at Brigham Hospital until his death, and affiliated with six other hospitals in the United States. Levine was a pioneer in the treatment of

coronary thrombosis Coronary thrombosis is defined as the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel of the heart. This blood clot may then restrict blood flow within the heart, leading to heart tissue damage, or a myocardial infarction, also known as a heart at ...

. He was the second American physician to diagnose the condition, which he detailed in his book, ''Clinical Heart Disease'' (1936). He was a noted teacher and trainer of heart specialists including

Bernard Lown Bernard Lown (June 7, 1921February 16, 2021) was a Lithuanian-American cardiologist and inventor. Lown was the original developer of the direct current defibrillator for cardiac resuscitation, and the cardioverter for correcting rapid disordered ...

, and also helped diagnose

pernicious anemia Pernicious anemia is a type of vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, a disease in which not enough red blood cells are produced due to the malabsorption of vitamin B12. Malabsorption in pernicious anemia results from the lack or loss of intrinsic fa ...

Charles E. Merrill Charles Edward Merrill (October 19, 1885 – October 6, 1956) was an American philanthropist, stockbroker, and co-founder, with Edmund C. Lynch, of Merrill Lynch (previously called Charles E. Merrill & Co.). Early years Charles E. Merrill, th ...

, founder of Merrill Lynch, endowed a chair of medicine in Levine's name at Harvard University in 1954. Named in his honor, the Samuel Albert Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital opened in 1965. Levine died March 31, 1966, in Newton, Massachusetts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Samuel A. 1891 births 1966 deaths American cardiologists People from Newton, Massachusetts Harvard Medical School faculty Harvard University alumni Harvard Medical School alumni People from Łomża Polish emigrants to the United States American Jews