B
efore you reach for Volume 5 of your wellthumbed set of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1 stop and save yourself the time for you will not find a single serpin among the e ´tudes, preludes, nocturnes, mazurkas, polonaises, waltzes, and impromptus of Fryderyk Franciszek (Fre ´de ´ric Franc ¸ois) Chopin's melodious repertoire. On the other hand, perusal of his biography will soon show that throughout most of his tragically short life, Chopin, who came from an unhealthy family, was a sickly individual 2,3 ; and therein lies the clue to this month's Landmark in Hepatology.
While it is generally believed that Chopin died of consumption 4 like a 19th Century operatic heroine, diagnoses other than tuberculosis, such as cystic fibrosis 5 and mitral stenosis, 6 have been tendered to explain his longstanding chronic respiratory symptoms. Born not far from Warsaw, to a French father (from Lorraine) and a Polish mother, Chopin (1810-1849) was a delicate child who fatigued easily and eschewed physical activity. Aside from early digestive problems, poor growth, and possible infertility, Chopin suffered continually from a cough that was often productive, and he had progressive exertional dyspnea. Chopin's father and Ludwika, his elder sister, were both subject to recurrent respiratory infection (of which Ludwika died at the age of 47 years), while his mother and Isabella, a younger sister, were quite healthy. Emilia, the youngest and sickest of the family, suffered repeatedly from paroxysms of coughing, wheezing and breathlessness, and repeated hematemesis.