The first book on heart disease. "The recognition of heart disease as of clinical interest and importance was exceedingly slow. In 1618, one hundred and eleven years after the pioneer publication of Benivieni of the postmortems in 111 postmortem examinations, including several of cardiovascular interest, and ten years before Harvey's De motu cordis there appeared a volume...written by Albertini.... Here at last with its imposing title, Albertini's book seemed to give promise in 1618 of something more.... Albertini did, to be sure, recognize the very fast pulse, the very slow pulse...and arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation although that designation was not, of course, used. Like others, he ascribed palpitation, faintness, and syncope to the heart and recognized reflex effects on the heart's action" (Paul Dudley White, Heart disease, 4th ed., p. 3). Digital facsimile from Google books at this link.