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