Andreas Gruentzig

Andreas Gruentzig

Andreas Roland Grüntzig (1939–October 27, 1985) was a German radiologist who first developed successful balloon angioplasty for expanding lumens of narrowed arteries.

Angioplasties

Grüntzig's first successful coronary angioplasty treatment on a human was performed in 1977, in Zurich, Switzerland. He expanded a short, about 3 mm, non-branching section of the LAD (Left Anterior Descending) artery (the front branch of the left coronary artery) which supplies the front wall and tip of the heart (see coronary circulation) which had a high grade stenosis, about 80%, of the lumen. Dr. Grüntzig presented the results of his first four angioplasty cases at the 1977 American Heart Association (AHA) meeting, which led to widespread acknowledgement of his pioneering work.

The immediate results of this treatment, despite using only a carefully "kitchen built" catheter (crude by current standards), was quite good. The patient became and remained angina free after this treatment. This initial patient's result was electively rechecked, by angiography at Emory University, on the 10-year anniversary of the initial treatment. The LAD narrowing, after this 10-year timespan, remained almost perfectly expanded. There was minimal residual narrowing, probably less than 10%, as seen in similar angle and multiple different views comparing with photographs of the original, 10 years earlier, before and after results.

The excellent results of this initial and subsequent patients were critical to the rapid development and growing acceptance of the angioplasty treatment option. Dr. Grüntzig recognized multiple important issues early: (a) the treatment would not be readily accepted by most physicians, especially bypass surgeons, (b) it could easily lead to bad outcomes without great care in selection of which patients/lesions to treat and of the treating physicians, and (c) it required careful teaching of the technique and its potential difficulties and pitfalls to other physicians, so as to proactively reduce the occurrence of poor results. Understanding these issues and tireless effort on his part are widely recognized in cardiology for being of fundamental importance to the ultimate success of the technique.

By about 1990, lumen stenosis of the coronary arteries was more commonly treated by the angioplasty technique than by coronary artery bypass surgery. This treatment approach is now referred to as POBA (plain old balloon angioplasty).

In the 1990s, further major improvements, both immediate and especially long term became possible with better understanding of disease as a result of clinical research trials using IVUS and the development of stents to mechanically support POBA results.

Since the later 1990s, most angioplasties also involve a stent over the angioplasty balloon; the balloon is hydraulically (typically 6 up to 25 atmospheres of internal pressure) expanded, then deflated and removed while the stent remains behind to mechanically support the lumen remaining in the new, more open shape as created by the hydraulically expanded balloon.

Grüntzig's success remains a major breakthrough and great contribution to the field of medicine in demonstrating that doctors could work inside of the arteries safely, without the need for open surgery. By utilizing the arterial circulation as a "therapeutic highway", many types of devices and drugs can now be delivered directly to the heart, kidneys, carotid arteries, brain, legs and aorta without the need for major surgery and general anesthesia.

Death

Grüntzig, an instrument-rated pilot, and his wife died in an airplane crash in their Beechcraft Baron in Forsyth, Georgia on October 27, 1985.

External links

* [http://www.ptca.org/archive/bios/gruentzig.html Andreas Grüntzig and Angioplasty (includes video clips)]

ee also

*Angioplasty
*History of invasive and interventional cardiology
*Monagan, David and David O. Williams. "Journey into the Heart: A Tale of Pioneering Doctors and Their Race to Transform Cardiovascular Medicine." New York: Gotham Books, February 1 2007.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Andreas Gruentzig — est un cardiologue suisse (1939 1985). Inventeur et bricoleur de génie qui fit évoluer la cardiologie en développant l angioplastie coronarienne à partir de 1976. Il effectua la première angioplastie d une artère coronaire chez un patient éveillé …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Andreas Grüntzig — Andreas Roland Grüntzig (* 25. Juni 1939 in Dresden; † 27. Oktober 1985 in Forsyth (Georgia)) war ein deutscher Angiologe und Kardiologe, durch dessen Wirken die interventionelle Kardiologie entscheidend geprägt wurde. Andreas Grüntzig wurde am… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gruentzig balloon catheter — Gruen·tzig balloon catheter (grēnґtsig) [Andreas Roland Gruentzig, German radiologist, 1939–1985] see under catheter …   Medical dictionary

  • Angioplasty — Intervention Balloon angioplasty. ICD 9 CM …   Wikipedia

  • History of invasive and interventional cardiology — The history of invasive and interventional cardiology is complex, with multiple groups working independently on similar technologies. While invasive and interventional cardiology is currently closely associated with cardiologists (physicians who… …   Wikipedia

  • Percutaneous coronary intervention — Intervention A coronary angiogram (an X ray with radio opaque contrast in the coronary arteries) that shows the left coronary circulation. The distal left main coronary artery (LMCA) is in the left upper quadrant of the image. Its main branches… …   Wikipedia

  • Projet:Médecine/Index — Articles 0 9 1,2 dibromo 3 chloropropane · 112 (numéro d urgence européen) · 1935 en santé et médecine · 1941 en santé et médecine · 1er régiment médical · 2 iodothyronine déiodinase · 2,4,6 trichlorophénol · 2005 en santé et médecine · 2006 en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Liste des articles de médecine — Projet:Médecine/Index Articles 0 9 112 (numéro d urgence européen) · 2 iodothyronine déiodinase · 2,4,6 trichlorophénol · 3000 Scénarios contre un virus · A A. J. Cronin · Aaron Esterson · Aaron Temkin Beck · Abacavir · Abascantus · Abasie ·… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Werner Forssmann — Infobox Scientist name = Werner Forssmann box width = image width =150px caption =A bust of Werner Forßmann birth date = August 29, 1904 birth place = Berlin death date = June 1, 1979 death place = residence = citizenship = nationality = Germany… …   Wikipedia

  • Coronary catheterization — A coronary angiogram (an X ray with radiocontrast in the coronary arteries) that shows the left coronary circulation. The distal left main coronary artery (LMCA) is in the left upper quadrant of the image. Its main branches (also visible) are the …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”