The Cleveland Memory Project
Cleveland: Pioneer in Cardiac Care
A team of 15 perform one of the world's first "stopped-
heart" surgeries at the Cleveland Clinic. View image
Success &
Innovation
Cleveland has had a history of success and innovation when it comes to heart health. Though most people associate heart care with the Cleveland Clinic, other area hospitals, doctors, and researchers were instrumental in the 1950s for making the city a “Mecca” for heart care. St. Vincent Charity Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic were among the first hospitals in the world to open wards dedicated solely to the care of cardiac patients. Surgical procedures that could be reliably reproduced in hospitals throughout the nation and world were pioneered in Cleveland.
Many surgeons and researchers from the city were nationally recognized and many more unsung experts in the city contributed to the tremendous advancements in cardiac care and research. The city contributed to the advancement of cardiac care in three major areas: research into heart conditions, developing technology for heart care, and pioneering surgical and exploratory procedures.
For More Information ...
... try consulting these resources:
- Websites:
- The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
- The Dittrick Medical History Center
- A brief Biography of Dr. Claude S. Beck
- Web article about Dr. Beck’s defibrillator - Heart Rhythm Society
- Web article about Dr. Beck’s defibrillator - Dittrick Medical History Center
- Web article about the Kay-Cross rotating disc oxygenator
- Cleveland Clinic Heart Health Timeline
- A brief biography of Dr. Irvine Heinly
- A web video about Dr. F. Mason Sones’ breakthrough in angiography
- An educational film made by Dr. Claude S. Beck
- Oct. 30, 1958: Medical Oops Leads to First Coronary Angiogram - "This Day in Technology" from Wired.com
- Texts & Papers:
- The History of Cardiothoracic Surgery from Early Times
- A paper discussing the history of CPR
- Dr. Henry A. Zimmerman’s paper on left heart catheterization
- A paper discussing the Beck I Operation
- “Surgery in the heart.” TIME. April 1956. Retrieved July 24, 2008 from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,824204-2,00.html
- Brown, HB. “The National Diet-Heart Study--implications for dietitians and nutritionists.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, v. 52 issue 4, 1968, p. 279-87.
- Brown, HB.; Page, IH. “Lowering blood lipid levels by changing food patterns.” Journal of the American Medical Association, v. 168 issue 15, 1958, p. 1989-95.
- Brown, HB; Meredith, AP; Page, IH. “Serum cholesterol reduction in patients; Response, adherence and rebound measured by a quantitative diet test.” American Journal of Medicine, v. 33, 1962, p. 753-62.
- Dustan, HP. “A history of the council for high blood pressure research: The first 50 years.” Hypertension. 30(6):1307-17, December 1997.
- Sones, FM, Jr. “Cardiac catheterization and selective cardioangiography.” Modern Medicine. 24:133-138, June 15, 1956.
This website is the practicum project of Kent State University School of Library and Information Science student, Kathryn Houk. She would like to give special thanks to Bill Barrow and Lynn Bycko of CSU Special Collections, Kiffany Francis, Joanne Cornelius, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Archives for their invaluable help on this project.