It goes without saying, that the heart is a crucial part of the
human body. It is the engine that supplies fuel to the rest of the body.
It is the nature's wonder, a miraculous feat that the heart persists on
pumping from the moment of its full functional formation until the
expiration of the body, the vehicle it serves; sometimes thriving beyond
the breakdown of all other organs and systems in the rest of the body,
the heart can go on.There have been many milestones in cardiology and
may famous cardiologist have contributed to better understanding how our
heart works and significantly improving the way we live today.
Michael DeBakey started life on September 7, 1908 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He studied at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana and received his B.S. in 1930, his M.D. in 1932, and his M.S. in 1935.
Early on, he showed real genius. Before he had even obtained his M.S., DeBakey invented a special pump that is a vital part of the heart-lung machine, a machine that makes open-heart surgery possible by doing the job of the lungs and heart while surgery is being performed. He also devised a system for fixing aortas. Debakey was on the first surgeons to use what is known as the Dacron graft to repair and replace blood vessels.
He was the first heart surgeon to find success at patch-graft angioplasty. The procedure first widened the artery that had become narrow and then used the graft to close the slit made to get the artery to the correct size.
By the 19th century doctors had invented the stethoscope and could now listen to the heart's live beating. By mid-20th century the electrocardiograph also known as the EKG machine had been invented. EKG allowed doctors to more closely monitor the overall performance of the heart using electrical impulses. This groundbreaking discovery led to a more easy diagnosis of arterial sclerosis (clogged arteries). The science of cardiology was advancing further and saving even more lives.
A true breakthrough in cardiology was made in 1938 when Robert E. Gross performed the first heart surgery. Gross, an American surgeon, was able to save the lives of infants and young children suffering from blue babies condition through surgery. Ten years later, Gross performed the first artery graft surgery, thereby making giant leaps in medicine.
In 1951, American surgeon Charles Hufnagel invented the first aplastic, artificial heart valve. This was another true miracle that gave a new lease on life to patients with heart valve failure. In 1952 at the University of Minnesota, C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John Lewis, both American surgeons, performed the first successful open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. The following year in 1953, American surgeon John Heysham Gibbon Jr. used a mechanical heart and blood purifier machine to make heart surgery safer and more effective. Unfortunately, and quite ironically, Gibbon died of a heart attack.
During this time, he met Michael E DeBakey and they developed a way to remove aortic aneurysms. He performed bloodless surgeries for Jehovah's Witnesses during the 1960's. He and his team developed new artificial heart valves which helped to drop mortality rates for heart valve transplant surgery from 70% all the way to 8%.
He performed the first successful artificial heart transplant in 1969. The man lived for over 2 days with this artificial heart beating inside of him. This operation was the start of a 40 year feud between DeBakey and Cooley. Debakey was to perform the surgery, however was delayed by a speaking engagement. Cooley went ahead and performed the surgery without authorization and stole this significant event from DeBakey.
A receiver of the Medal of Freedom and countless other honors from all over the world, Cooley has truly achieved more in a lifetime than most people ever hope to achieve. Now age 92, Cooley's place in medical history is well cemented. It can be hard to measure a man, but over 118,000 surgeries is a good place to start.
As we more boldly into the 21st-century, more medical marvels await us. Biotechnology already promises a future where designer organs can be grown to match a specific patient. This is a breakthrough that could greatly reduce the risk of transplant rejection. Modern cholesterol blockers greatly decrease the chance of heart attack and disease for millions of Americans. Today's cardiologist has access to a staggering amount of new medicines. These cutting edge pharmaceuticals can lower blood pressure, control heart rate, and promote general heart health. Someday, nearly invisible nano-machines may be able to perform surgery on individual body cells. This would allow them to repair hearts from the inside out.
Many miraculous strides have been made throughout history by brilliant minds. Without the contributions made by the aforementioned and not mentioned inventors, researchers, scholars and doctors dedicated themselves to study the human heart to the point of creating a new heart that can be replaced if our nature made default one fails. Let us not forget, that without their contribution, many of our ancestors and, yes, naturally many of us may not be alive today or even have ever been born.
Michael DeBakey started life on September 7, 1908 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He studied at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana and received his B.S. in 1930, his M.D. in 1932, and his M.S. in 1935.
Early on, he showed real genius. Before he had even obtained his M.S., DeBakey invented a special pump that is a vital part of the heart-lung machine, a machine that makes open-heart surgery possible by doing the job of the lungs and heart while surgery is being performed. He also devised a system for fixing aortas. Debakey was on the first surgeons to use what is known as the Dacron graft to repair and replace blood vessels.
He was the first heart surgeon to find success at patch-graft angioplasty. The procedure first widened the artery that had become narrow and then used the graft to close the slit made to get the artery to the correct size.
By the 19th century doctors had invented the stethoscope and could now listen to the heart's live beating. By mid-20th century the electrocardiograph also known as the EKG machine had been invented. EKG allowed doctors to more closely monitor the overall performance of the heart using electrical impulses. This groundbreaking discovery led to a more easy diagnosis of arterial sclerosis (clogged arteries). The science of cardiology was advancing further and saving even more lives.
A true breakthrough in cardiology was made in 1938 when Robert E. Gross performed the first heart surgery. Gross, an American surgeon, was able to save the lives of infants and young children suffering from blue babies condition through surgery. Ten years later, Gross performed the first artery graft surgery, thereby making giant leaps in medicine.
In 1951, American surgeon Charles Hufnagel invented the first aplastic, artificial heart valve. This was another true miracle that gave a new lease on life to patients with heart valve failure. In 1952 at the University of Minnesota, C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John Lewis, both American surgeons, performed the first successful open heart surgery to correct a congenital heart defect. The following year in 1953, American surgeon John Heysham Gibbon Jr. used a mechanical heart and blood purifier machine to make heart surgery safer and more effective. Unfortunately, and quite ironically, Gibbon died of a heart attack.
During this time, he met Michael E DeBakey and they developed a way to remove aortic aneurysms. He performed bloodless surgeries for Jehovah's Witnesses during the 1960's. He and his team developed new artificial heart valves which helped to drop mortality rates for heart valve transplant surgery from 70% all the way to 8%.
He performed the first successful artificial heart transplant in 1969. The man lived for over 2 days with this artificial heart beating inside of him. This operation was the start of a 40 year feud between DeBakey and Cooley. Debakey was to perform the surgery, however was delayed by a speaking engagement. Cooley went ahead and performed the surgery without authorization and stole this significant event from DeBakey.
A receiver of the Medal of Freedom and countless other honors from all over the world, Cooley has truly achieved more in a lifetime than most people ever hope to achieve. Now age 92, Cooley's place in medical history is well cemented. It can be hard to measure a man, but over 118,000 surgeries is a good place to start.
As we more boldly into the 21st-century, more medical marvels await us. Biotechnology already promises a future where designer organs can be grown to match a specific patient. This is a breakthrough that could greatly reduce the risk of transplant rejection. Modern cholesterol blockers greatly decrease the chance of heart attack and disease for millions of Americans. Today's cardiologist has access to a staggering amount of new medicines. These cutting edge pharmaceuticals can lower blood pressure, control heart rate, and promote general heart health. Someday, nearly invisible nano-machines may be able to perform surgery on individual body cells. This would allow them to repair hearts from the inside out.
Many miraculous strides have been made throughout history by brilliant minds. Without the contributions made by the aforementioned and not mentioned inventors, researchers, scholars and doctors dedicated themselves to study the human heart to the point of creating a new heart that can be replaced if our nature made default one fails. Let us not forget, that without their contribution, many of our ancestors and, yes, naturally many of us may not be alive today or even have ever been born.
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