Leo Schamroth

Leo Schamroth FRSSAf (2 June 1924 in Belgium – 24 May 1988 in Johannesburg) was a South African cardiologist remembered for his work in electrocardiography and for describing Schamroth's window test.[1]

Leo Schamroth
Born(1924-06-02)2 June 1924
Antwerp, Belgium
Died24 May 1988(1988-05-24) (aged 63)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Alma materUniversity of the Witwatersrand Medical School
Known forElectrocardiography
Schamroth's window test
Spouse(s)Renee Schamroth
Scientific career
FieldsCardiology

Biography

Schamroth was born in Belgium and emigrated to South Africa in infancy. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School (WitsMed) in 1948. He went to Britain for post-graduate studies and returned to South Africa to complete his registrarship at Johannesburg General Hospital.[2] He joined the university staff based at the Baragwanath Hospital in 1956 as a specialist physician. In 1965 he was awarded a Doctorate of Medicine and in 1970 a Doctorate in Science.[2] He became Professor of Medicine at WitsMed and chief physician at Baragwanath Hospital in 1972. He held those positions until his retirement on 31 October 1987 owing to ill health.[3][4] He continued to write, teach and lecture as Professor of Medicine at WitsMed and abroad.[2]

Works

Despite the lack of a cardiology unit at Baragwanath Hospital, Schamroth made important contributions to the field of cardiology. He published over 300 papers and eight textbooks, mostly concerned with electrocardiology. In 1957 he published An Introduction to Electrocardiography. It ran to seven editions and was translated into Spanish, Italian, Greek, Turkish, and Japanese while also being the most frequently stolen book from medical libraries in the world.[3][4]

He wrote two other textbooks, The Disorders of Cardiac Rhythm and The Electrocardiology of Coronary Artery Disease which were translated into Italian and Spanish. His final work, Twelve Lead Electrocardiography was published posthumously in four volumes in 1969.[3]

Acknowledgments and memberships

Private life

Schamroth was married and had four sons, all of whom became physicians, but only one a cardiologist.[3]

References
  1. Schamroth L (February 1976). "Personal experience". S. Afr. Med. J. 50 (9): 297–300. PMID 1265563.
  2. Dubb, Prof. A (1989). "IN MEMORY OF LEO SCHAMROTH FRSSAf". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 47 (2): 213. doi:10.1080/00359198909520166.(subscription required)
  3. Biography of Leo Schamroth at the Heart Rhythm Society online Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Scott Millar, R. (2009). "Leo Schamroth: his contributions to clinical electrocardiography - with reference to : incomplete left bundle-branch block". .. Cardiovascular Journal of Africa. 20 (1): 28–9. PMC 4200562. PMID 19287812.
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