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In celebration and recognition of the 25th anniversary of the first patient successfully treated with an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, a revolutionary lifesaving device developed by Michel Mirowski, M.D., and Morton Mower, M.D. at
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, two medical office buildings on the hospital�s campus will be named in their honor. The Sinai Medical Office Building located on Belvedere Avenue will now be known as the Morton Mower, M.D. Medical Office Building and a new facility currently under construction on Greenspring Avenue will be known as the Michel Mirowski, M.D. Medical Office Building.
It is an honor, on behalf of the institution where their journey began, to salute the enduring legacy of Michel Mirowski, M.D., and Morton Mower, M.D.,� said Neil M. Meltzer, president and COO, Sinai Hospital. The research done here, at Sinai Hospital, by Mirowski and Mower has helped improve the quality of life for thousands of patients. The hospital continues to follow in their footsteps, providing the highest level of commitment to cardiology and medicine to its patients.�
Inspired by a favorite professor, who died shortly after developing ventricular tachycardia, Mirowski swore he would develop a device to treat arrhythmia. In 1968, Mirowski became the director of the Coronary Care Unit at Sinai Hospital, where he was able to dedicate half of his time to medical research. It was here where Mirowski met Mower, a junior member of hospital�s staff and director of the heart center.
When Mirowski asked Mower, a self-described tinkerer, if he could build a defibrillator that could be inserted into a patient�s chest, it only took Mower a couple of hours to agree to the project. For the next 11 years, Mirowski and Mower worked through trial and error before gaining approval for the device that monitors heart rates and sends electronic pulses to heart muscles if it is beating too slow or too fast. Their hard work paid off in February 1980 when the first patient was successfully treated with an implantable defibrillator.
During the next five years, more than 800 patients were treated with an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD). By 1988, nearly 5,000 people had benefited from Mirowski and Mower�s device. The FDA estimates nearly 416,000 AICDs were implanted between 1990 and 2002 in the United States alone.
Influenced by the determination of Mirowski and Mower to improve the lives of patients, Sinai Hospital continuously strives to be on the forefront of cardiac research and treatment. In 2001, 2002, 2003 and again in 2005, U.S. News & World Report recognized Sinai as one of the nation�s top heart hospitals. Additionally, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore was awarded Premier Awards for Quality in the areas of Heart Failure and Coronary Artery Bypass Graft earlier this year.
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore is part of LifeBridge Health, a regional health organization that also includes Northwest Hospital Center, ,
Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Jewish Convalescent & Nursing Homeand related subsidiaries and affiliates.
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