William J. Rashkind (February 12, 1922 - July 6, 1986) was an American

cardiologist 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 he ...

. Rashkind worked at the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...

. He is best known for his contributions to the treatment of

congenital heart defect A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly 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 cardiovascula ...

s. He introduced the

Rashkind balloon atrial septostomy 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 (often imprecisel ...

to treat transposition of the great vessels.

Biography

Rashkind was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.University of Louisville School of Medicine The University of Louisville School of Medicine at the University of Louisville is a medical school located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Opened as the Louisville Medical Institute in 1837, it is one of the oldest medical schools in No ...

. He was a physician at the

. He is best known for the balloon septostomy procedure. In this technique, a cardiologist feeds a catheter into the heart of a patient with transposition of the great vessels. This catheter is advanced into the patient's

right atrium The atrium ( la, ātrium, , entry hall) is one of 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 valves. There are two a ...

, across a flap known as the

patent foramen ovale Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital heart defect in which blood flows between the atria (upper chambers) of the heart. Some flow is a normal condition both pre-birth and immediately post-birth via the foramen ovale; however, when this do ...

(PFO) and into the patient's

left atrium The atrium ( la, ātrium, , entry hall) is one of 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 valves. There are two ...

. There is a balloon on the end of the catheter. The balloon is inflated and then pulled back across the PFO, creating a hole in the heart through which oxygenated and deoxygenated blood can mix. Rashkind introduced his balloon septostomy procedure in 1966. In May of that year, ''

LIFE Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' profiled Rashkind and described his procedure on a young boy named Bobby. The procedure had required only local anesthesia and the patient's color improved immediately thereafter. Describing the medical community's response to the Rashkind procedure, pediatric cardiologist

Charles Mullins Major Charles Herbert Mullins VC CMG (28 June 1869 – 24 May 1916) was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Comm ...

later said, "The initial response to this report varied between admiration and horror but, in either case, the procedure stirred the imagination of the 'invasive' cardiologists throughout the entire cardiology world and set the stage for all future intracardiac interventional procedures – the true beginning of pediatric and adult interventional cardiology." Writing about Rashkind's balloon innovation, pediatric cardiologist

Jacqueline Noonan Jacqueline Anne Noonan (October 28, 1928 – July 23, 2020) was an American pediatric cardiologist best known for her characterization of a genetic disorder now called Noonan syndrome. She was also the original describer of hypoplastic left hea ...

said that Rashkind could legitimately be referred to as "the father of interventional pediatric cardiology." In 1986, Rashkind died of cancer at home in

Marion, Pennsylvania Marion is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 851. It lies along U.S. Route 11 south of Chambersburg and north of Greencastle ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashkind, William J. 1922 births 1986 deaths Physicians from New Jersey American pediatric cardiologists University of Louisville School of Medicine alumni Physicians from Pennsylvania