Our history

The Montreal Heart Institute has continually made a mark on the international scene with world firsts :

• Intramyocardial implantation of the internal mammary artery, which preceded the development of aortocoronary bypasses, in 1955.
• Selective femoral coronography, in 1964. 
• Paper published describing blockages that occur in grafts after an aortocoronary bypass, which helped to modify heart surgery techniques throughout the world, from 1972-1974.
• Radial approach for selective coronary angiography, in 1979.
• Percutaneous laser coronary dilatation, in 1987.
• Cryoablation (extreme cold to ablate tissue) to treat arrhythmia, 1999.
• In collaboration with the CHU Sainte-Justine, a heart catheterization procedure using the new CROSSER™ technology on a child with a completely blocked heart artery, in 2006.