Stella Van Praagh

Last updated
Stella Van Praagh
Born
Stella Zacharioudaki

(1927-03-18)March 18, 1927
DiedJune 3, 2006(2006-06-03) (aged 79)
Education University of Athens, Johns Hopkins
Years active1952-2002
Medical career
ProfessionPediatric Cardiologist
FieldPediatric Cardiology, Pathology
Institutions Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Children's Hospital Boston

Stella Van Praagh was a pediatric cardiologist and pathologist at Children's Hospital Boston. She was internationally known for her contributions to the pathology of congenital heart disease. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Stella Van Praagh was born in Rethymnon, Crete, Greece. [1] She graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of Athens in 1952 and undertook further training in pediatric cardiology at Johns Hopkins where she worked with Helen Taussig. [2]

Career

In 1962, she moved to Children's Hospital of Buffalo as a pediatric cardiologist and research associate. There, she met Richard Van Praagh, and the two were married shortly afterwards, beginning a lifelong personal and professional partnership. [1] In 1965, both Van Praaghs moved to Boston Children's Hospital where they worked until their retirements in 2002. [1] [2]

Accomplishments

Stella and Richard Van Praagh were world-renowned pediatric cardiologists and pathologists. They proposed a new approach to formalize anatomic descriptions of congenital heart disease, which forms the basis of much of the current standard understanding. [3] Specific examples include Truncus Arteriosus, [4] sinus venosus atrial septal defect, [5] and heterotaxy syndrome. [6]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiology</span> Branch of medicine dealing with the heart

Cardiology is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradycardia</span> Heart rate below the normal range

Bradycardia is a medical term used to describe a resting heart rate under 60 beats per minute (BPM). While bradycardia can result from a variety of pathologic processes, it is commonly a physiologic response to cardiovascular conditioning, or due to asymptomatic type 1 atrioventricular block. Resting heart rates less than 50 BPM are often normal during sleep in young and healthy adults, and in athletes. In large population studies of adults without underlying heart disease, resting heart rates of 45-50 BPM appear to be the lower limits of normal, dependent on age and sex. Bradycardia is most likely to be discovered in the elderly, as both age and underlying cardiac disease progression contribute to its development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atrial septal defect</span> Human heart defect present at birth

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which blood flows between the atria of the heart. Some flow is a normal condition both pre-birth and immediately post-birth via the foramen ovale; however, when this does not naturally close after birth it is referred to as a patent (open) foramen ovale (PFO). It is common in patients with a congenital atrial septal aneurysm (ASA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interventional cardiology</span>

Interventional cardiology is a branch of cardiology that deals specifically with the catheter based treatment of structural heart diseases. Andreas Gruentzig is considered the father of interventional cardiology after the development of angioplasty by interventional radiologist Charles Dotter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congenital heart defect</span> Defect in the structure of the heart that is present at birth

A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly, congenital cardiovascular malformation, and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular disease. Signs and symptoms depend on the specific type of defect. Symptoms can vary from none to life-threatening. When present, symptoms are variable and may include rapid breathing, bluish skin (cyanosis), poor weight gain, and feeling tired. CHD does not cause chest pain. Most congenital heart defects are not associated with other diseases. A complication of CHD is heart failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fontan procedure</span> Surgical procedure used in children with univentricular hearts

The Fontan procedure or Fontan–Kreutzer procedure is a palliative surgical procedure used in children with univentricular hearts. It involves diverting the venous blood from the inferior vena cava (IVC) and superior vena cava (SVC) to the pulmonary arteries. The procedure varies for differing congenital heart pathologies. For example in tricuspid atresia, the procedure can be done where the blood does not pass through the morphologic right ventricle; i.e., the systemic and pulmonary circulations are placed in series with the functional single ventricle. Whereas in hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the heart is more reliant on the more functional right ventricle to provide blood flow to the systemic circulation. The procedure was initially performed in 1968 by Francis Fontan and Eugene Baudet from Bordeaux, France, published in 1971, simultaneously described in 1971 by Guillermo Kreutzer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and finally published in 1973.

Situs ambiguus is a rare congenital defect in which the major visceral organs are distributed abnormally within the chest and abdomen. Clinically heterotaxy spectrum generally refers to any defect of Left-right asymmetry and arrangement of the visceral organs; however, classical heterotaxy requires multiple organs to be affected. This does not include the congenital defect situs inversus, which results when arrangement of all the organs in the abdomen and chest are mirrored, so the positions are opposite the normal placement. Situs inversus is the mirror image of situs solitus, which is normal asymmetric distribution of the abdominothoracic visceral organs. Situs ambiguus can also be subdivided into left-isomerism and right isomerism based on the defects observed in the spleen, lungs and atria of the heart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atrium (heart)</span> Part of the human heart

The atrium is one of the two upper chambers in the heart that receives blood from the circulatory system. The blood in the atria is pumped into the heart ventricles through the atrioventricular mitral and tricuspid heart valves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persistent truncus arteriosus</span> Medical condition

Persistent truncus arteriosus (PTA), often referred to simply as truncus arteriosus, is a rare form of congenital heart disease that presents at birth. In this condition, the embryological structure known as the truncus arteriosus fails to properly divide into the pulmonary trunk and aorta. This results in one arterial trunk arising from the heart and providing mixed blood to the coronary arteries, pulmonary arteries, and systemic circulation. For the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), the International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code (IPCCC) was developed to standardize the nomenclature of congenital heart disease. Under this system, English is now the official language, and persistent truncus arteriosus should properly be termed common arterial trunk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asplenia with cardiovascular anomalies</span> Medical condition

Asplenia with cardiovascular anomalies, also known as Ivemark syndrome and right atrial isomerism, is an example of a heterotaxy syndrome. These uncommon congenital disorders are characterized by defects in the heart, spleen and paired organs such as the lungs and kidneys. Another name is "asplenia-cardiovascular defect-heterotaxy".

Still's murmur is a common type of benign or "innocent" functional heart murmur that is not associated with any sort of cardiac disorder or any other medical condition. It can occur at any age although it is most common among children two to seven years of age and it is rare in adulthood.

The heart is the first functional organ in a vertebrate embryo. There are 5 stages to heart development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atrial septostomy</span> Surgical procedure on the heart

Atrial septostomy is a surgical procedure in which a small hole is created between the upper two chambers of the heart, the atria. This procedure is primarily used to palliate dextro-Transposition of the great arteries or d-TGA, a life-threatening cyanotic congenital heart defect seen in infants. It is performed prior to an arterial switch operation. Atrial septostomy has also seen limited use as a surgical treatment for pulmonary hypertension. The first atrial septostomy was developed by Vivien Thomas in a canine model and performed in humans by Alfred Blalock. The Rashkind balloon procedure, a common atrial septostomy technique, was developed in 1966 by American cardiologist William Rashkind at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Aortopulmonary septal defect is a rare congenital heart disorder accounting for only 0.1-0.3% of congenital heart defects worldwide. It is characterized by a communication between the aortic and pulmonary arteries, with preservation of two normal semilunar valves. It is the result of an incomplete separation of the aorticopulmonary trunk that normally occurs in early fetal development with formation of the spiral septum. Aortopulmonary septal defects occur in isolation in about half of cases, the remainder are associated with more complex heart abnormalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volume overload</span>

Volume overload refers to the state of one of the chambers of the heart in which too large a volume of blood exists within it for it to function efficiently. Ventricular volume overload is approximately equivalent to an excessively high preload. It is a cause of cardiac failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart development</span> Prenatal development of the heart

Heart development, also known as cardiogenesis, refers to the prenatal development of the heart. This begins with the formation of two endocardial tubes which merge to form the tubular heart, also called the primitive heart tube. The heart is the first functional organ in vertebrate embryos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray S. Hoffman</span> American cardiologist

Murray Stanley Hoffman was an American cardiologist, educator and diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Cardiovascular Disease, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the Council on Clinical Cardiology (CLCD) of the American Heart Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absent pulmonary valve syndrome</span> Medical condition

Absent pulmonary valve syndrome(APVS) is a congenital heart defect that occurs when the flaps of the pulmonary valve do not develop or are severely underdeveloped (hypoplasia) resulting in aneurysms (dilation) of the pulmonary arteries and softening of the trachea and bronchi (tracheobronchomalacia). Usually, APVS occurs together with other congenital heart defects, most commonly ventricular septal defect and right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. It is sometimes considered a variant of Tetralogy of Fallot. The first case of absent pulmonary valve syndrome was reported Crampton in 1830.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riaz Haider</span> American physician (born 1934)

Riaz Haider is an American physician, cardiologist, author, and medical educator. He is best known for his work and research in the diagnostic cardiac ultrasound, heart pacemakers, exercise stress testing, and heart catheterization. He is the former President of the American Heart Association Nation's Capital Affiliate, and served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences from 1984 - 2011. He is an elected Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the Royal College of Physicians. He retired in 2011 and currently resides in Potomac, Maryland.

Paul M. Weinberg was Professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a pediatric cardiologist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He was internationally known for his contributions to pediatric cardiology education and the pathology of congenital heart disease.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Milanesi, Ornella; Marino, Bruno (2007). "Obituary: Stella van Praagh". Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8 (1): 88. doi: 10.2459/JCM.0b013e3280127b3e .
  2. 1 2 3 Juraszek, Amy (2006). "Obituary: Stella van Praagh (March 18,1972 - June 3, 2006)". Cardiology in the Young. 16 (5): 517. doi: 10.1017/S1047951106000989 .
  3. 1 2 3 4 Van Praagh, Richard (2019). "The Story of Dr Stella (1972 - 2006)". World Journal for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery. 10 (1): 125–128. doi: 10.1177/2150135117705639 . PMID   30799724.
  4. Van Praagh, Richard; Van Praagh, Stella (1965). "The anatomy of common aorticopulmonary trunk (truncus arteriosus communis) and its embryologic implications: A study of 57 necropsy cases". The American Journal of Cardiology. 16 (3): 406–425. doi: 10.1016/0002-9149(65)90732-0 . PMID   5828135.
  5. Van Praagh, Stella; Carerra, Maria; Sander, Stephen; Mayer, John; Van Praagh, Richard (1994). "Sinus venosus defects: Unroofing of the right pulmonary veins -- Anatomic and echocardiographic findings and surgical treatment". American Heart Journal. 128 (2): 365–379. doi:10.1016/0002-8703(94)90491-X. PMID   8037105.
  6. Van Praagh, Richard; Van Praagh, Stella (1990). "Atrial isomerism in the heterotaxy syndromes with asplenia, or polysplenia, or normally formed spleen: An erroneous concept". The American Journal of Cardiology. 66 (20): P1504-1506. doi:10.1016/0002-9149(90)90543-A. PMID   2252000.