Many researchers and physicians contributed to the development of the tools and techniques that are now being used by cardiologists around the world. Here are some of them.
Rene
Theophile Laennec (1781-1826)
French physician who in 1816 invented a stethoscope. It is believed that the idea came to him when he had to hear the chest sounds of a lady with particularly enormous breasts (:
William
Einthoven (1860-1927)
Dutch physiologist who invented the electrocardiogram and received a Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine in 1924 for his invention. His method started with the development of the first string galvanometer in 1903 (named after him, the Einthoven galvanometer). Using this new instrument he was able to record the electrical potential changes that accompany each contraction. He recorded these changes graphically and called these recordings the electrocardiogram. He then further perfected the technique by using different limb leads. Einthoven recognized the diagnostic power of his invention and studied changes in electrocardiograms associated with different heart diseases.
Werner
Forssmann (1904-1979)
German surgeon, awarded Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine in 1956 for his invention of cardiac catheterization. Forssmann invented the heart catheter, a thin flexible tube which can be inserted into the peripheral blood vessel and then be navigated toward the heart. Forssmann tested first catheter on himself, inserting a 2.5 foot (76 cm) catheter into the vein of his arm and pushing it into the right atrium. He was harshly criticized for the foolishness and danger of the procedure and abandoned it altogether. However, the procedure was later perfected and used by André F. Cournand and Dickinson W. Richards, allowing them to measure blood pressure and other conditions inside the heart. Cardiac catheterization is now one of the major diagnostic tools of cardiology and is used for drug delivery, visualization of coronary flow, laser angioplasty and other procedures.
