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