Advancements in Cardiovascular Diagnostics

Introduction

Since the x-ray was first applied to the chest in 1895 and the original galvanometer electrocardiogram was created by Dr. Willem Einthoven in 1902, cardiologists have been working to augment their history and physical exam with new objective information gleaned by the various technological advancements of each historical era. The first three-lead electrocardiographic machine was bought for everyday clinical use in 1908 by Sir Edward Schafer of the University of Edinburgh, and was used primarily to study arrhythmias. The idea of the myocardial infarction developed in 1910, and it was found by 1930 that the readout from an electrocardiogram could often produce patterns pathognomonic enough to diagnose cardiac-related chest pain. By 1954, the electrocardiogram had gradually developed into the 12-lead system used ubiquitously today by family practitioners and cardiologists alike (AlGhatrif & Lindsay, 2012). From these beginnings, the field of cardiovascular diagnosis has burst forth in leaps and bounds: within the last 25 years, ever-improving imaging techniques and laboratory assays for increasingly sensitive and specific biomarkers for cardiac muscle disruption have taken their places next to the electrocardiogram as pillars of cardiovascular diagnosis and care (Dolci & Panteghini, 2006). This chapter works to provide an updated snapshot of the current field, with a focus on areas in which great improvements have been made in the last few decades and a nod to the great discoveries now visible just beyond the next bend in the road.