Remembering a Part of the History of a University Hospital in Service to the Community: ‘The Cardiology Service of Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in the Development of Hemodynamics in Argentina'

Abstract

In the early 1960s, under the direction of the Cardiology Service at the Italian Hospital, hemodynamic studies began with a modest X-ray equipment featuring a fluoroscopic screen. Between 1964 and 1965, an angiography machine was installed, the first in Argentina with an image intensifier, a TV camera, and a 35mm cine. Over time, hemodynamics acquired its own identity, becoming a de facto autonomous hospital service. With the new equipment, the first coronary angiographies in the country were performed along with arteriographies of the lower limbs and other non-cardiological studies using cine instead of radiographic plates, which allowed for a dynamic view. It also enabled guiding catheters to organs with tumors to perform selective intra-arterial chemotherapies. In this way, hemodynamics gained prestige at the national level and would have been crowned with the possibility of Dr. René Favaloro joining the hospital, which unfortunately did not materialize despite his wishes; a mention of this event was made during the development of this article.