History

Introduction

The Minneapolis Heart Institute’s founding physicians recognized that the finest heart care for patients needed to be supported by an enduring commitment to education and research. Together with devoted community leaders, in 1982 they established the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF). The platform for these endeavors was conceived and dedicated to enhancing patient care and the length and quality of life by fostering an environment of cooperative inquiry and improvement.

1982

The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF) is established as a 501 (c)(3) medical research organization.

The Foundation receives initial funding of one million dollars from the thirteen founding physicians of the Minneapolis Heart Institute.

1984

Community and physician board of directors announce a $2.5 million drive to endow research.

1985

Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) physicians are first to implant the Jarvik 7-70 total artificial heart; the patient was also the first woman to receive an artificial heart.

The Foundation is selected as the worldwide data collection center for users of the artificial heart.

1986

First full-time Director of Research is appointed.

1988

MHI physicians perform one of the first double-lung transplants in the U.S.

1989

The Foundation is named beneficiary of its first charitable annuity trust.

MHIF is a leading investigative center in the application of interventional devices for the patient in need of critical care.

Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (balloon catheterization) is an alternative to coronary artery bypass surgery.

1990

The first atherectomy in the Twin Cities is performed by a Minneapolis Heart Institute physician. This procedure uses a rotating blade catheter to remove cholesterol blockage from vessels supplying blood to the heart.

The Foundation's heart failure clinic reports that by virtue of drug treatment, diet modification, as well as medical surveillance and monitored activity, patients with congestive heart failure are enjoying many more normal activities, and have fewer and shorter hospital stays.

Institute physicians care for and treat more than 25,000 patients annually allowing a rich source of data for conducting research.

Radiofrequency catheter ablation is available to patients for treatment of arrhythmia.

1992

Barry Maron, M.D., a twenty-year career investigator with the National Institutes of Health, is appointed Director of Research and establishes a center to study hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in the young, including competitive athletes.

The Foundation establishes a partnership with Burroughs Fundamental Education School to offer 4th grade students an opportunity to visit MHIF and participate in interactive education programming.

The 55 and Under Registry is the first of its kind for identifying “young” patients with coronary artery disease, cerebral vascular disease and/or peripheral vascular disease. Demographic and cardiac risk factor data are obtained when a patient is hospitalized at ANW hospital. This information will help assess the benefit of risk factor modification and identify the best method to accomplish a successful risk factor reduction.

1993

The first studies are underway using a newly designed synthetic graft instead of veins and arteries in bypass surgery.

1994

A community heart-health education program, HeartMatters, is developed and implemented as a primary prevention effort in the development of coronary artery disease.

The first coronary stent implantation in the Twin Cities is performed by a Minneapolis Heart Institute physician. This procedure involves placing a permanent metal tube to open a blocked coronary artery. This procedure represents a significant breakthrough in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

The Bethesda Conference #26, is chaired by Barry Maron, MD, and produces a landmark expert consensus panel document sponsored by the American College of Cardiology. The published document provides practice guidelines for eligibility or disqualification of competitive athletes with cardiovascular disease.

1995

MHIF conducts research on a new surgical technique for bypass surgery. The Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass, or “trapdoor”, procedure costs far less than traditional bypass procedures and greatly reduces the risk of complications.

The research unit of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation establishes key collaborative relationships with four Italian centers (Rome, Florence, Genoa, Turin) and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston) to begin investigations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and athlete’s heart syndrome.

1996

The second endowment campaign, “Affirming the Commitment,” achieves its $3.0 million goal.

MHIF presented the first international symposium on Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass surgery. The 450 registrants represented 18 countries in addition to the U.S. The program was successfully repeated to 250 attendees in 1997.

In collaboration with Barry Maron, MD and molecular biologists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston (Harvard Medical School) a new gene responsible for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is reported in Nature Genetics.

1997

The HeartMate Program began with our first implant of the left ventricular assist device. The device is implanted between the natural heart and the aorta and is designed to perform all or part of the pumping function of the left ventricle.

Two endowments to honor three MHI physicians are launched with a goal of $1.0 million each. The Fredarick Gobel/Robert Van Tassel Endowment for Research in Cardiology and the Demetre Nicoloff Endowment for Research in Cardiovascular Surgery.

The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation sponsors the first International Summit on Diagnosis and Management of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Sudden Death and Athletes in Minneapolis, October 15-17, 1997. About 150 physicians, researchers and other interested parties are in attendance, representing 10 foreign countries. The distinguished faculty of 24 internationally renowned experts is led by Dr. Barry Maron, Director of Research.

First clinical description of a new form of sudden cardiac death in recreational and competitive athletes, provoked by low energy blows to the chest (commotio cordis), was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Lead author is Dr. Barry Maron.

1999

The HiTECH Heart, an interactive functioning model of the human heart, is developed and pilot tested at school sites primarily within Minneapolis and St. Paul. The Science Museum of Minnesota designs and constructs the model and funding is provided through the Medtronic Foundation.

The first angiogenesis trial at the Foundation is implemented in an attempt to stimulate the formation of new blood vessels in areas of the heart that currently receive insufficient blood due to blockages.

2000

Integrative Therapies Research provides complementary/integrative therapies to patients prior to percutaneous coronary intervention. In a collaborative effort with Duke University Medical Center, patients are randomized in the MANTRA II trial to standard medical care versus standard medical care plus off-site prayer and bedside music, imagery and touch therapy.

A landmark study showing efficiency of ICD in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Barry Maron is the principal investigator and lead author.

The HiTECH Heart Program welcomes a new partner in 2000, Great River Energy, who generously gifts $28,000 to the Foundation to build a second heart model and purchase a vehicle dedicated to the program. This support significantly increases our ability to reach tens of thousands of children statewide with an important prevention message.

2001

The Foundation appoints Dr. Tim Henry as Director of Research. Dr. Henry formerly served as Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Hennepin County Medical Center where he conducted dozens of clinical trials and authored numerous papers.

The Foundation appoints its first Director of Pre-Clinical Research, Dr. Rob Schwartz. Dr. Schwartz, who had been Professor and Director of Vascular Biology at Mayo Clinic, set in motion plans for the Foundation’s first pre-clinical research program.

Dr. Tim Henry conducts the Foundation’s first gene therapy trial at Abbott Northwestern Hospital/MHIF.

MHIF joins the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Council on Physical Activity and Sports in the development of a statewide initiative and new Minnesota nonprofit organization, Be Active Minnesota, which will serve as a catalyst in the support and promotion of physical activity. Initial funding for the effort is secured through the Team Heart Project.

2002

The Foundation’s Education Services Division facilitates 340 independent programs in schools, work sites, healthcare facilities, and community centers located throughout the state.

The HiTech Heart Program visits over 200 Minnesota elementary schools reaching 35,000 fourth-grade students with a heart disease prevention message.

The Foundation is awarded its first ever American Heart Association grant to investigate the role of a novel inflammatory marker, PAPP-A, in detecting vulnerable plaque in high-risk patients with acute coronary syndromes. The investigation is led by Rob Schwartz, MD, Jeff Haroldson, PharmD, and Tim Henry, MD.

The cardiologists of MHI pledge $2 million to the endowment campaign.

2003

Timothy Henry, MD, David Larson, MD, of the Ridgeview Medical Center’s Emergency Department in Waconia, Minn., and Barbara Unger, RN, pioneered the unique Level One Heart Attack program to coordinate community ER departments, ER transportation professionals, and a constantly available angioplasty team. The protocol, the first of its kind in the United States, has had a major impact on the care of Minnesota patients and has attracted regional, national and international interest in replicating the program.

The first drug-eluting coronary stent is approved by the FDA April, 2003. MHIF participates in the landmark SIRIUS Trial.

The first annual I-2003 Interventional Cardiology conference is held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Three centers, including MHIF, participate via satellite with a live PFO case presented by Dr. Michael Mooney.

Alan Hirsch, MD joins MHIF as a cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist interested in Peripheral Arterial Disease research. He authors a position paper entitled “Mandate for Creation of a National Peripheral Arterial Disease Awareness Program” that is co-published in seven national and international vascular specialty journals.

The OPTIMIST program launches the first newsletter for patients with angina and coronary artery disease blockages that cannot be fixed. This newsletter is designed to keep this special group of patients informed of treatment and research options available to them. Angiogenesis research continues to hold promise, and MHIF will continue to lead the way.

2004

The Foundation’s Education Department delivers over 550 independent programs to communities throughout Minnesota.

Dr. Tim Henry, Medical Director of Research gave over 20 invited lectures ranging in subject from cellular therapy for coronary artery disease, the Level One MI program, the OPTIMIST program, innovative devices and novel treatments for coronary artery disease, angiogenesis, and new pharmocotherapies during coronary intervention. He spoke at programs as diverse as the Family Practice Update in Big Sky, MT, the New Zealand Society of Cardiology in Taupo, New Zealand, and as Visiting Professor in San Jose, Costa Rica.

After an initial pilot program, the Level One Heart Attack Program has successfully been implemented in 31 hospitals up to 200 miles from Minneapolis. Rapid transfer of heart attack patients from community hospitals up to 200 miles to cath lab centers is found to be safe and effective with outcomes similar to patients who present directly to cath lab centers. Currently, more than 40 Level One heart attack patients are being treated through this system monthly.