Patent ductus arteriosus in an elderly man.

It is well known that a patent ductus arteriosus is commoner in women than in men (Wood, 1956), and longevity seems to be the prerogative of the woman. Fairley and Goodwin (1959) found that 5 per cent of their series of adults with this anomaly survived the age of 60, but noted that they were all women. This is a report ofa man aged 61 in whom a patent ductus arteriosus was diagnosed for the first time. Case Report The patient was a retired chemist in whom a diagnosis of "weak heart " was made at the age of 5. Despite this he led a full and active life, playing tournament tennis until the age of 58. At that time he was admitted to hospital with an attack of paroxysmal tachycardia which was controlled by large doses of quinidine. A loud systolic murmur was noted to be present in the pulmonary area but there was no diastolic murmur. He was admitted twice with similar attacks in the next three years, and the electrocardiograms showed a wide variety of arrhythmias. In 1961 a pulmonary diastolic murmur was heard for the first time. This increased in loudness over the course of the next three years while the systolic murmur became