CARDIOSPASM IN INFANCY AND IN CHILDHOOD

Cardiospasm in infancy and childhood is seldom mentioned in the literature, and it is practically ignored in the standard textbooks on pediatrics. That it occurs in adults is well known, although frequently it is overlooked. In my experience and that of my colleagues in the Mayo Clinic, it is one of the most common diseases of the esophagus. The question of the etiology of cardiospasm is still debatable, but the preponderance of evidence so far indicates definitely that the condition has a pathologic background. Cardiospasm is regarded by most physicians as a purely functional disorder, old opinions to this effect having been passed on from textbook to textbook without further thought being given to the problem. A statement frequently made is: "Of course cardiospasm is a functional affair as it does not occur in childhood." This statement, and the few but conflicting papers on the subject of cardiospasm in childhood,