Cardiac valve replacement is the result of decades of boldness, trial and error, and innovation driven by pioneers of cardiac surgery. Long before modern valves existed, surgeons and engineers dared to imagine replacing a diseased heart valve.
Digitalis marked a turning point in the history of heart failure treatment. From herbal medicine to the birth of modern pharmacology, a key discovery in cardiology. .
The history of the pacemaker begins with the early ideas of Albert Hyman and takes shape through the work of Paul Zoll and Walt Lillehei. These pioneers demonstrated that electrical stimulation could control the heart rhythm, paving the way for the development of the modern pacemaker and a major advance in cardiac medicine.
Coronary angiography uses contrast dye and X-rays to visualize the heart’s arteries and detect blockages. Introduced in the late 1950s, it transformed the diagnosis of coronary arteryThe two coronary arteries, the right and the left, form the blood network that supplies the heart with oxygen and nutrients. They are located directly on the surface of the heart and branch into smaller vessels that disease.
The discovery of cardiac catheterization, born from an unusual and daring event, represents a major milestone in cardiology. This breakthrough transformed the way heart diseases are diagnosed and understood.
Cardiac defibrillation — from Claude Beck’s manual heart massage in 1947 to today’s portable defibrillators — represents one of the greatest breakthroughs in emergency medicine.
In less than half a century, these discoveries have turned a once-fatal arrhythmia into a condition that can often be reversed, saving thousands of lives every year.
History of John Gibbon, pioneer of extracorporeal circulation and inventor of the heart-lung machine, a decisive breakthrough in modern cardiac surgery.
History of Dr. Walt Lillehei, pioneer of open-heart surgery through cross circulation, a major milestone in the evolution of modern cardiac surgery.
Dr. F. John Lewis performed the first successful open-heart surgery in 1952 by using controlled hypothermia to repair an atrial septal defect, a major milestone in the history of cardiac surgery.
Dr. Wilfred Bigelow was one of Canada’s most influential pioneers in cardiac surgery. His bold intuition regarding the use of hypothermia paved the way for procedures that had previously been considered impossible.
This site is intended to provide information and make cardiology comprehensible for all patients; it is not a substitute for a doctor. It does, however, enable a better understanding of how the heart works, the many heart diseases that exist, the tests required to reach a diagnosis, and the drugs and other methods used to treat them.
Where the masculine is used herein, it shall be all-gender inclusive.
