Short answers, pulled from the story.
Werner Forssmann performed the first self-experimentation with a catheter in the heart in 1929. He inserted a catheter into his own arm vein and threaded it up to his heart to prove that the human heart could be accessed from the outside. This procedure eventually earned him a Nobel Prize despite initially costing him his career and freedom.
The Blalock-Taussig shunt was first performed on a human infant in 1944. Helen B. Taussig collaborated with surgeon Alfred Blalock and surgical technician Vivien Thomas to develop this procedure for children born with Tetralogy of Fallot. The operation created a connection between the subclavian artery and the pulmonary artery to allow more blood to flow to the lungs.
Willem Einthoven won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1924 for inventing the electrocardiogram. This invention allowed doctors to see the heart's electrical activity for the first time and revolutionized the diagnosis of heart disease. The ECG records tiny electrical impulses that travel through the heart to create a waveform revealing conditions like heart attacks or arrhythmias.
In 2010, hypertension was believed to be a factor in 18% of all deaths globally. This condition is defined by persistently elevated pressure in the arteries with readings of 140/90 mmHg or higher for most adults. It remains a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.
Essential hypertension accounts for 95% of all hypertension cases. This form of the condition has no single identifiable cause and involves a mix of genetic factors and environmental influences such as diet, obesity, and stress. Treatment has evolved from lifestyle changes to complex drug regimens that can control blood pressure in 90% of patients.