Coronary Stents: A History of Innovation and Life-Saving Technology

Catheters and balloons are the basis for implanting a coronary stent to hold an artery open. The first known used of a catheter was in ancient Egypt. Catheter use progressed and are now inserted into a vein to clear and open a restricted artery and implant a stent.

Coronary Catheter

• The first use of a coronary catheter was in 1929 by Doctor Werner Forssmann in Germany. He inserted a catheter in his own antecubital vein and into his right atrium. Dr. Forssmann received a Nobel Prize for this work in 1956. In 1941, Doctors Cournand and Richards used the procedure as a diagnostic tool. They received the Nobel Prize with Forssmann.

Balloons

• In 1974, Andreas Gruentzig tested using balloons on animals to test the procedure to open an artery. In 1977, he performed the first procedure on a patient that was awake.

Stents

• The FDA approved the first device to clear and hold open an artery on Aug. 3, 1994. It was a stainless steel device placed in the coronary artery to hold it open. Since then they have been a common procedure. Materials and medicines to prevent blockages improved to make them a safe and beneficial advancement to medicine.