Historical account: Interventional cardiology

Abstract

History of catheter-based coronary and cardiac intervention spans more than three decades of unprecedented expansion of treatment options available to patients with coronary artery and more recently also structural heart disease. Starting at the kitchen table of one of the most prominent pioneers in cardiac care of the twentieth century, it has become standard care of treatment employing expert skills and high-technology instrumentation worldwide. In this chapter, some of the stepping stones proceeding the current era are reviewed.