The past 50 years opens the heart to surgery

The heart has long been considered so vital that it could not be interfered with. Just 50 years ago, surgeons operated on other organs but feared touching the heart.

A lot has changed in the past five decades, much of it due to the invention of the heart-lung machine. The heart-lung machine helped solve the problem of keeping the patient alive while the heart was stopped. It also helped surgeons by clearing the working area of high volumes of blood that obscure their view.

Today, cardiologists have many options for intervening to treat cardiovascular disease. These options have developed rapidly since the invention of the heart-lung machine.