Frits L. Meijler; a scientific career chasing his holy grail: the function of the AV node

On 21 December 1984, Stuart Robles de Medina finished his oil-painting of Professor Frits Meijler sitting in a relaxing chair. Today, the painting is exhibited at the Department of Cardiology of the University Medical Center in Utrecht. One year earlier (1983) Stuart’s brother, Etienne Robles de Medina, had accepted the chair of cardiology succeeding Frits Meijler, who continued his career as director of the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands (ICIN) for which he remained active until his death on 28 December 2010. He was active as director until 1994. Yet even in the last year of his life, when the survival of the ICIN was being debated, he produced a letter in support of the ICIN that was so well composed and sharp that it made the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam tremble, and the ICIN was allowed to flourish and grow with the full support of the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW). An earlier crucial step in his career was his move from Amsterdam to Utrecht. After being trained by Professor Dirk Durrer, he took the position of Professor R.L.J van Ruijven in 1968. Already in 1952, Van Ruijven had been able to make cardiology an independent speciality, and therefore the oldest department of cardiology in the Netherlands. As protégé of Dirk Durrer, Meijler was an important part of the spectacular new developments in cardiology. In addition, he had already met the international players visiting Amsterdam. Meijler performed beautiful studies on the isolated human heart and the mysterious AV node. These subjects kept his attention throughout his active career. As chief of cardiology in Utrecht, he formed a well-respected top clinical institute, known for solid training and stimulating leadership. More then once he stood up to defend controversial viewpoints and he argued his opinion with great passion. He firmly believed that cholesterol was a good thing, only beaten by digitalis which was even better. Sometimes his outspoken opinions were not shared by his colleagues, but they were clearly inspired by the main life events he experienced and his character. In 1973 his dedication and stamina resulted in the first issue of the European Journal of Cardiology. In his first contribution he states: ‘Gadgetry will, however, never replace the well trained nurse, nor the bedside clinician. As long as patients and not their electrophysiological emanations have to be cared for their place will be self-evident and irreplaceable’ [1]. The success of the young journal is enormous and currently is comparable with the Journal of the ACC, with respect to impact factor. Not everything in Utrecht was easy and a direct success, yet in 16 years he built up a innovative institute combining research with clinical cardiology. His work attitude and dedication are still alive in our department. In his period in Utrecht, he also became close to the Dutch Royal family. These relations were crucial for later expeditions set up to record ECGs in a whale. A nice combination of science and adventure from the early days of cardiology. He presented many more details on these trips in 1998. He allowed an extensive interview summarised in the book ‘Wijzers in de Cardiologie’ [2]. In the chapter ‘Een leven in het teken van de AV knoop’ he reviews from his personal perspective the most important innovations in cardiology in the preceding 30 years. Based on five articles he also highlights the rising of electrophysiology and his fascination for the AV node. This focus on the AV node was still there until the very end. His final article balances P. A. Doevendans (*) Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands e-mail: [email protected]