Over 40 Years of Caring for Heart & Vascular Patients
Timeline
1966: Cardiac Intensive Care unit opens at Sacred Heart Medical Center
1968: Progressive Cardiac Unit opens at SHMC
1969: Cardiac Catheterization Lab opens
Wesley Jacobs, M.D.,
Eugene's first physician trained in invasive cardiology
1971: Sacred Heart Medical Center becomes the first hospital between Portland and San Francisco to offer open heart surgery
Robert Hodam, M.D.,
Eugene's first cardiac surgeon
1981: First simple balloon angioplasty procedure performed
Cardiologist Foster Keene, M.D.,
who performed first balloon angioplasty at Oregon Heart Center
1984: Oregon Heart Center established to integrate all aspects of cardiac care at SHMC, including medical care, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and education
Cardiologist Leonard Christie, M.D.,
founder of the Oregon Heart Center and medical director until 1996
1984: Vascular Laboratory opens
1986: Cardiac Rehabilitation program established
1991: Two new cardiac procedures become available: atherectomy and cold-tip laser cardiac catheterization
1992: First cardiac defibrillator implanted
1992: First ablation procedure performed
1992: Sacred Heart’s Vascular Laboratory becomes the first in Oregon and one of the first in North American granted full accreditation in all areas of vascular technology
1994: First rotoblation performed.
1994: First stent procedure performed
1996: First off-pump coronary bypass surgery performed
1997: Bi-plane electrophysiology (EP) lab opens—the first in Oregon
1997: First radial artery graft used in coronary artery bypass surgery
1998: Sacred Heart completes a $3.5 million expansion of its cardiac/vascular treatment areas
1999: For the first time, Sacred Heart is named to the nationwide list of Top 100 Hospitals for Cardiovascular Care
2000: First endovascular aortic stent graft performed
2000: Echocardiography Laboratory becomes the first in Oregon to be granted full accreditation in all areas of echocardiography
2001: First biventricular device implanted
2001: First transmyocardial revascularization with CO2 heart laser performed
2002: Sacred Heart again named to the nationwide list of Top 100 Hospitals for Cardiovascular Care
2003: First operative maze procedure performed for atrial fibrillation
2003: First drug-eluting stent procedure performed
2003: First brachytherapy procedure performed
2004: First PFO closure (CardioSEAL) procedure performed
2004: Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute founded. First minimally invasive surgical RF ablation of atrial fibrillation
2005: First Cryoablation procedure performed to treat arrhythmia; first Endograft repair of thoracic aortic aneurysm
2008: Opening of the new Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute at the RiverBend medical campus, adjacent to Sacred Heart Medical Center
2009: First robotic-assisted mitral valve repair surgery performed