Vincent Gott, MD, former chief of cardiac surgery at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Hospital, died at 93 of heart failure Nov. 20, Johns Hopkins University announced.
Dr. Gott performed many firsts throughout his career, including the first experiment showing electronic stimulation could jumpstart patients' heartbeats and paved the way for many of today's cardiac procedure care standards.
"He revolutionized heart valve designs, performed the first heart transplant operation at Johns Hopkins Hospital and perfected operational procedures for correcting congenital heart defects in patients with Marfan syndrome," the university said in a news release. "His leadership helped transform the School of Medicine's cardiac surgery division into one of the premier programs in the world."
Dr. Gott trained more than 50 cardiac surgeons during his 50-plus year run as a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty member. He also played an instrumental role in the development of early pacemaker prototypes and inspired the founding of Medtronic, one of the world's largest medical device makers.
Dr. Gott earned his medical degree from New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine. He died at his home in Charlottesville, Va.