Ahead of their time

@HealthMed An example from this weekend's episode of the series 'Downton Abbey' of the challenges of historical accuracy in broadcast media. Set during the Great War, a keen enlister is turned down on medical grounds because of a heart murmur citing 'mitral valve prolapse' as the reason. This condition is often benign however was not recognised until the 1960s. The condition was first reported by John Barlow and colleagues in the American Heart Journal in Feb 1966 (Barlow's syndrome). The phrase 'mitral valve prolapse' was first used by Michael Criley and colleagues later that year in the July issue of the British Heart Journal.