It subsequently shrank back to smaller and steady numbers based on the cumulative this website evidence generated in major studies. Bypass surgery became the standard of care for multi-vessel and left main revascularization procedures and remains valid to this day. A CLINICALLY DRIVEN PASSIONATE INNOVATOR—THE BIRTH OF INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) was the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical next frontier challenging the surgical methods for coronary revascularization. The concept

of transluminal angioplasty was suggested by Charles Dotter as early as 1964.6 Dotter pioneered modern medicine with the invention of angioplasty, which was first used to treat peripheral arterial Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical disease. Dotter is commonly known as the “Father of Interventional Radiology” and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1978. Dr Andreas Grüntzig followed Dotter’s concept in 1974 and performed the first peripheral human balloon angioplasty.7 However, he did not stop there. Grüntzig hypothesized that coronary blockages can be Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical dilated by a balloon in an alert patient and that the artery will remain open after that. He achieved his goal by building some experimental balloons on long catheters from plastic materials available at that time. In 1977

he treated the first patient with this technique and dilated a proximal lesion at the left anterior descending artery.8 The patient recovered and that artery Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical remained open for many years. The balloon that Grüntzig developed looks exactly like the balloons used today. The field of interventional cardiology was born by the passion of a physician who carried his idea to the patient’s bedside. That technology, broadly known today as percutaneous coronary

intervention (PCI), sparked a lot of criticism. In the early days of angioplasty, the dilated artery would close abruptly in up to 10% of patients, leading to mortality in over 30% of those Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical patients. In addition, restenosis occurred within 3 months in over 30% of the patients due to a combination of vessel recoil and intimal proliferation, in response to the injury caused by balloon dilatation. Over the years, materials have improved and the thinner profile of newer catheters allowed less traumatic interventions. Nevertheless, balloon dilatation continued to be limited by acute occlusion and restenosis, Ergoloid necessitating the search for appropriate solutions. In summary, Andreas Grüntzig, an enthusiastic, passionate, and talented physician who was inspired by earlier pioneers, was able to solve technological and conceptual barriers and apply his solution to patients bravely, in the face of much criticism. His work gave birth to a fascinating new world and opened the door for the influx of new technologies for years to come. He died in 1985 in a plane accident, but the field that he inspired has grown beyond his expressed dreams.