From Catheters To Ventricular Assist Devices: 60 Years of Cardiovascular Experiences With William L. Winters, JR., M.D

Automatic typewriters, transistor radios, microfiche, black and white television…while considered high-tech in the 1950s, these technologies seem limited when viewed from the 21st century. The same is true for cardiovascular medicine, which back then relied on electrocardiograms and X-rays for most...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Methodist DeBakey cardiovascular journal 2015-07, Vol.11 (3 Suppl), p.1-4
Main Author: Winters, Jr, W L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude of Health Personnel
Cardiac Catheterization - history
Cardiac Catheterization - instrumentation
Cardiac Catheters - history
Cardiology - history
Diffusion of Innovation
Heart-Assist Devices - history
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Job Satisfaction
Physician-Patient Relations
Prosthesis Design
Winters
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Summary:Automatic typewriters, transistor radios, microfiche, black and white television…while considered high-tech in the 1950s, these technologies seem limited when viewed from the 21st century. The same is true for cardiovascular medicine, which back then relied on electrocardiograms and X-rays for most diagnoses. In the 60 years since, advances in medical capabilities have progressed at a staggering pace. Patient research that once required months poring over paper charts is now reduced to hours using electronic medical record databases. Diagnostic images that once took days to process can now be accessed instantly through ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. While a half-century ago no one would have imagined accessing any and all information with a 5-second Google search, so too would noninvasive heart surgery been considered unimaginable. Since the 1950s when he graduated from medical school, William L. Winters, Jr., has been a first-hand witness to breathtaking innovations in cardiovascular medicine-both globally and in Houston. Author of Houston Hearts: A History of Cardiovascular Surgery and Medicine at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and long-time medical editor of the Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal, Dr. Winters sat down with the journal editors this past April to share his insights from the last half-century of medical practice.
ISSN:1947-6094
1947-6108
DOI:10.14797/mdcj-11-3s1-1