Defibrillators, 1948

By Nicholas Bakalar, New York Times

Ventricular fibrillation - uncontrolled fluttering of the heart that can lead to death within minutes - was a phenomenon well known as early as 1850. In fact, it was known that an electric current could start these abnormal contractions in a healthy heart.

In 1899, two Swiss researchers experimenting with dogs discovered that the fibrillation could also be stopped and normal beats restored in the same way, by shocking the heart. The New York Times reported the finding on July 3 of that year, but it would be almost a lifetime before anyone developed a practical application for it. When in 1948 The Times first mentioned the cardiac defibrillator - the device used to give the heart that life-saving jolt - it had just been invented, or rather reinvented in a jury-rigged version.

A short unsigned article published July 28 described a lung operation in a Trenton hospital that had gone seriously wrong. The patient's heart had stopped just as the surgeon made a chest incision. There were apparently some quick-thinking, well-informed people in the operating room.

Complete Story >> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/health/09firs.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y