George E. Burch

Who was George E. Burch?

George Edward Burch was a shaper of modern cardiology during the middle part of the twentieth century, whose accomplishments included elucidating the fundamental physiological basis of important cardiovascular diseases, in addition to contributions to the teaching of medicine and cardiology. He was chairman of the Department of Medicine at Tulane University for many years. He is best known for his research in electrocardiography and vectorcardiography, for contributions to understanding viral-based cardiovascular diseases, for 12 books in the field of medicine and cardiology, and for more than 850 publications in the scholarly literature. He is also credited with the invention of the phlebomanometer, an instrument for measuring pressure in small veins. He elucidated effects of climate on the cardiovascular system and on congestive heart failure. He was a pioneer in the use of radioisotopes as tracers in medical research. Additionally Burch had wide influence as editor of the American Heart Journal and was an early anti-smoking activist.

The American Journal of Cardiology published a historical study of George E. Burch shortly after his death. A detailed biography of George E. Burch was published in 2010. An on-line biography is maintained by the Association of University Cardiologists. He has also been memorialized at Tulane University Medical Center in their organization of former internal medicine residents, the Musser-Burch Society. A bronze bust of George E. Burch by sculptor Jean Seidenberg is prominent in the main lobby of Tulane University School of Medicine. An oil painting, Portrait of George E. Burch, by artist George Rodrigue, resides at the New Orleans Museum of Art.