Helen Brooke Taussig | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 24, 1898 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 20 May 1986 (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Boston University Johns Hopkins School of Medicine |
| Known for | Founding figure of paediatric cardiology Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt Role in banning of thalidomide |
| Awards | E. Mead Johnson Award (1947) Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (1954) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964) Elizabeth Blackwell Award (1970) John Howland Award (1971) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cardiology |
| Notable students | S. I. Padmavati[1] |
Helen Brooke Taussig (May 24, 1898 – May 20, 1986) was an American cardiologist, working in Baltimore and Boston, who founded the field of pediatric cardiology. She is credited with developing the concept for a procedure that would extend the lives of children born with Tetralogy of Fallot (the most common cause of blue baby syndrome). This concept was applied in practice as a procedure known as the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt. The procedure was developed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas, who were Taussig's colleagues at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Taussig was partially deaf following an ear infection in childhood; in early adulthood this progressed to full deafness.[2] To compensate for her loss of hearing, she learned to use lip-reading techniques and hearing aids to speak with her patients. Taussing also developed a method of using her fingers, rather than a stethoscope, to feel the rhythm of their heartbeats.[3][4] Some of her innovations have been attributed to her ability to diagnose heart problems by touch rather than by sound.[3]
Taussig is also known for her work in banning thalidomide and was widely recognized as a highly skilled physician. She was the first woman to be elected head of the American Heart Association. She was more proud of the fact that she was the first pediatrician to be elected head of the AMA; and in 1964 she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.[5]
- ^ "Who was Dr SI Padmavati, India's first woman cardiologist who died at 103 - IBTimes India". International Business Times. 2023-08-06. Archived from the original on 2023-08-06. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ Van Robays, J (2016). "Helen B. Taussig (1898-1986)". Facts, Views & Vision in ObGyn. 8 (3): 183–187. ISSN 2032-0418. PMC 5172576. PMID 28003874.
- ^ a b "Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Helen Brooke Taussig". National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ "Helen Brooke Taussig | American physician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
- ^ Swaby, Rachel. (2015). Headstrong : 52 Women Who Changed Science - and the World. Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc). pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-553-44679-1. OCLC 903952884.