Table of Contents
1951
Dr. F. Mason Sones, Jr., photo 1957
The Cleveland Clinic establishes its first Department of Pediatric Cardiology. Pediatric cardiologist F. Mason Sones, Jr., M.D., is appointed chairman of the new department.
Throughout the Clinic, nurses are organized into specialized services, including a “chest” service to help manage patients undergoing heart and lung surgery.
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1956
The world's first “stopped heart” surgery team
The surgery (photo courtesy of Cleveland Press Collection)
Heart surgeons Donald B. Effler, M.D., and Laurence Groves, M.D., perform the world's first successful “stopped-heart” surgery, a procedure that involves stopping the heart so that it can undergo surgical repair. The procedure uses a heart-lung machine developed by Cleveland Clinic surgeon Willem E. Kolff, M.D., Ph.D.
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1957
Photo of Dr. Page, Dr. Bumpus, and Dr. Schwarz synthesizing angiotensin in 1957.
Drs. Page, Bumpus and Schwarz synthesize angiotensin II, a vasoconstrictor, that leads to high blood pressure. Their work with renin, angiotensin, serotonin, and angiotensin II led to the development of drugs, which are used in the treatment of high blood pressure, heart failure, migraine, and psychological disorders. Dr. Page previously led the effort to isolate serotonin.
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1958
Early catheterization (coronary angiography) laboratory
Dr. Sones performing a cardiac catheterization in the 1970's.
Specialized nursing care for Cleveland Clinic Hospital cardiac patients begins with the opening of the Constant Care Unit's “Heart Room.”
Dr. Willem Kolff pictured with Tetsuzo Akutsu, MD, who went on to become a famous researcher in Japan.
A close-up of Dr. Kolff's artificial heart.
Willem Kolff, M.D., Ph.D., begins work on developing an artificial heart. Dr. Kolff was a pioneer inventor of artificial organs. He invented a dialysis and a heart-lung bypass machine.
The Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award is given to Cleveland Clinic chemist and clinician Irvine Page, M.D., for his pioneering research in describing the renin-angiotensin system, the major mechanism the body uses to control blood pressure. The Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards recognize scientists, physicians, and public servants who help make major advances in the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease. The award has come to be known as “America's Nobel Prize.”
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1959
Helen Brown and her co-worker, Mrs. Spodnik. Together, they worked on many projects to establish diet guidelines.
Researcher Helen Brown, Ph.D., is a key investigator in the National Diet Heart Study that helps establish the role of dietary cholesterol in cardiovascular disease. She creates one of the first diets to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
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