After analyzing the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, a research team boasting a cardiologist, medical historian and musicologist suggests that some of his most striking rhythms may have been inspired by a heart condition.

Writing in the journal Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Washington say certain parts of renowned works by the 19th-century German composer seem to reflect the irregular rhythms of cardiac arrhythmia.

"His music may have been both figuratively and physically heartfelt," said co-author Joel Howell, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. "When your heart beats irregularly from heart disease, it does so in some predictable patterns. We think we hear some of those same patterns in his music."

Example: In the movement "Cavatina" in Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13 in B flat major, Opus 130, the key suddenly changes to C flat major, involving an unbalanced rhythm that evokes dark emotion, disorientation and what has even been described as a shortness of breath.

In Beethoven's directions to musicians playing the piece, he marked the section "beklemmt," a German word that translates to "heavy of heart."

Interestingly, the actual cause of Beethoven's death is disputed. He was chronically ill, with numerous conditions attributed to his demise. Among them are alcoholic cirrhosis, syphilis, infectious hepatitis, lead poisoning, sarcoidosis and Whipple's disease.

Body of Knowledge

Information travels at different speeds within the body, depending upon the central nervous system cell involved. Some messages travel as "slowly" as a half-meter (1.6 feet) per second, whereas others cover 120 meters (393 feet) in the same time. Given the actual distances involved, it's all quite speedy.

Number Cruncher

A tall Starbucks hot chocolate made with whole milk and with whipped cream (340 grams) contains 330 calories, 162 from fat. It has 18 grams of total fat, or 28 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet, according to the Calorie Count database.

It also contains 68 milligrams of cholesterol (23 percent), 150 milligrams of sodium (6 percent), 33 grams of total carbohydrates (11 percent), 1.5 grams of dietary fiber, 27.8 grams of sugar and 11.3 grams of protein.

Counts

53: percentage of American adults polled in December 2014 who said they would be willing to share information anonymously with health care researchers.

61: percentage of these adults who were 35 or younger.

43: percentage of these adults who were 65 or older.

Source: NPR-Truven Health Analytics health poll

Mania of the Week

Planomania: an abnormal desire to wander and disobey social norms.

Never Say Diet

The speed-eating record for french fries is 2 pounds in three minutes, 54 seconds, held by Dave "Coondog" O'Karma, who obviously fried, fried and fried again until he had success, or he just has good karma.

Observation

"If your doctor's last name is Google, it's time to get a second opinion." — Anonymous

Medical History

This week in 1875, George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan, patented an electric dental drill for sawing, filing, dressing and polishing teeth. He rather benignly described it as an "electromagnetic dental tool."

Last Words

"God will pardon me. That's his line of work." — German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856), best-known for lyric poetry set to music by contemporary composers, such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.