Today , we post cases for coronary angiogram , just like sending clients to breakfast table ! Close your eyes. Think for a moment. It is heartening to know how cardiac catheterization grew from a humble beginning . We know , Forssman , Cournand and Richardson who shared the Nobel price for Inventing cardiac catheterization in 1930s .
Soon after it’s invention it was criticized by most, few ridiculed it outright , few others wondered about it . One man from the iconic Grady memorial hospital , attached to Emory silently adopted this procedure and almost single-handedly did more than 1500 cardiac catheterization procedure. (Between 1940-50s)
How many of us know this man from Atlanta ,Georgia ?
Some times history appears unkind. He is Dr Steads . . . to be precise Dr.Eugene Anson Stead Jr. ( 1908, – 2005)
Born in a humble background in the suburbs of Atlanta , became a great medical teacher , researcher and educator . He is one of the founding fathers of cardiac catheterization . Defined it’s usage in clinical cardiology . The other major achievement was his strong conviction that medical science is indeed simple but made complicated by complex concepts .This thought transformed in him , as he found the concept of physician assistant . He believed focused medical knowledge in young and enthusiastic mind can make huge difference in the way medical knowledge is disseminated, applied and consumed .What a stunning truth even today !
The legacy of Grady continues which is one of the largest public hospital in USA with special affinity to poor and low-income population.
The lab which Dr Stead worked was later taken over by Dr Noble O Fowler* , another great cardiac physician continued the research and wrote the famous book on cardiac diagnosis and treatment.( * I think it should be in early 1950s when Dr Stead left for Dukes)
Final message
Invention of a concept is one thing . Accepting it , trying it , improving it , disseminating it , is an equally important contribution to science. Dr Stead did exactly that .He remained a positive force in propagation of medical knowledge, made it available for those people who need it .
He passed away on June 12, 2005 at the age of 96 leaving behind a huge legacy .It will be an error if we don’t teach our young students history of such great men , in medical schools today !
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 