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UW & Global Cardiovascular Health

The History of Cardiovascular Health at UW

  • UW has always been a place of research and innovation for the field of cardiology.

  • 1956

    In 1956, an engineering student named Wayne Quinton who ran the instrument shop at UW helped build a better heart-lung machine than the prototypes being used in Minnesota. The first open heart surgery outside of Minnesota took place that year, by Dr. Alvin Merendino at today’s Harborview Medical Center, using the new bypass machine and was a phenomenal success.

  • 1958

    In 1958, Dr. Robert Rushmer, who was trained as a both a pediatrician and physiologist, began working with engineers to develop clinical applications for Doppler ultrasound — using sound waves to visualize the pumping heart and measure blood flow.

  • 1963

    Professor Robert Bruce developed the cardiac treadmill that is used routinely today to test cardiovascular function known as the “Bruce Protocol” in 1963.

    cardiac treadmill

  • 1987

    The Cardiovascular Health Research Unit was established in 1987 by Dr. Bruce Psaty and Dr. David Siscovick with an aim to develop and apply knowledge to prevent morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. CHRU is currently co-directed Dr. Psaty and Dr. Nona Sotoodehnia.

  • 2007

    Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) was founded in 2007 by Dr. Chris Murray and stewards the Global Burden of Disease Study. Cardiovascular efforts are led by Dr. Greg Roth.

  • The Global Cardiovascular Health Program is a succession of the innovation the field of cardiology has taken on at UW.

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The Global Cardiovascular Health Program hosts interdisciplinary faculty working on more than 40 projects globally, including programs in Latin America, Africa, Asia and North America.  Faculty are comprised of experts across disciplines ranging from clinical cardiology, cardiac surgery, health system evaluation, health metrics, policy, epidemiology, and implementation science.