[TCT2007]Coronary Angioplasty: A Timeline

1977 Andreas Gruentzig, MD, performs the first human coronary balloon angioplasty in Zurich, Switzerland
1978 Richard Myler, MD, and Simon Stertzer, MD, perform the first coronary angioplasties in the United States.
1979 Geoffrey Hartzler, MD, performs the first balloon angioplasty in a patient with acute myocardial infarction
1982 John Simpson, MD, introduces over-the-wire coaxial balloon systems
1985 Gruentzig dies in a plane crash
1987 First coronary stent implanted in a human by Richard A. Schatz, MD, and Julio Palmaz, MD, PhD, in Sao Paolo, Brazil
1994 Palmaz-Schatz stent approved by the FDA
1999 First patient in the world receives Cypher stent
2003 Cypher stent approved by the FDA
2004 TAXUS drug-eluting approved by the FDA
2007 Angioplasty therapy celebrates 30 years