Carey Franklin Coombs (5 September 1879 – 9 December 1932) was a British

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. 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 di ...

known for his work involving rheumatic heart disease and the eponymous Carey Coombs murmur.

Early life and education

Coombs was born in Castle Cary, Somerset, Frome, England, on 5 September 1879. He received his early education at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

in Bristol. He then attended medical school at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School and was awarded his M.B. in 1901, M.D. in 1903. He then returned to Bristol to enter private practice. He was made a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

in 1917. He became a physician at

Bristol General Hospital Bristol General Hospital (sometimes referred to as BGH or Bristol General) was a healthcare facility in Guinea Street, Harbourside, Bristol, in the south west of England. It opened in 1832 and closed in 2012. The BGH was managed by the Universi ...

in 1920 and director of the

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

Centre of Cardiac Research in 1927. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was a major in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

and served in England,

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Contributions to medicine

He is best known for his work involving

rheumatic Rheumatology () is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatology covers more than 100 different complex diseases, c ...

and

coronary heart disease Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), or ischemic heart disease (IHD), is a type of cardiovascular disease, heart disease involving Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the cardiac muscle due to a build-up ...

. He performed important studies of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

, and described a rumbling mid-

diastolic Diastole ( ) is the relaxed phase of the cardiac cycle when the chambers of the heart are refilling with blood. The contrasting phase is systole when the heart chambers are contracting. Atrial diastole is the relaxing of the atria, and ventricul ...

cardiac The heart is a muscular organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissu ...

murmur that occurs in the acute phase of rheumatic fever. This cardiac murmur is now referred to as the "Carey Coombs murmur". In 1910 he made one of the earliest diagnoses 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 ...

, and before his death in 1932, he had documented 144 cases of this condition. His most well known written work is "Rheumatic Heart Disease", a book that was published in 1924. He is also remembered for his work in the management and prevention of childhood heart disease. In 1930 he delivered the Lumleian Lectures to the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

Later years and death

Coombs died on 9 December 1932. Coombs had been suffering from chest pain and prescribed bed rest. He subsequently died suddenly and a post mortem examination of the heart revealed that he likely died from a Stokes–Adams attack and a possible massive

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coombs, Carey 1879 births 1932 deaths British cardiologists 20th-century English medical doctors People from South Somerset (district) Royal Army Medical Corps officers