Cournand, Andre Frederic, << kur NAHN, AHN dray fray day REEK >> (1895-1988), a French-born American physiologist, was awarded the 1956 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for his research into the interior of the heart and its workings, and pathological changes in circulatory systems. He shared the prize with Dickinson Woodruff Richards of the United States and Werner Forssmann of Germany.
Cournand used the method of cardiac catheterization, pioneered in 1929 by Forssmann, to explore a living heart. This procedure involves passing a thin tube through a vein in an arm or a leg to the heart. By this means, doctors can determine what part of a patient’s heart is defective and whether an operation is the appropriate form of treatment.
Cournand was born in Paris. In 1930, he graduated in medicine from the University of Paris. He continued his studies at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. There he met Richards, who collaborated in his research into the heart and lungs. Cournand became an American citizen in 1941. From 1934 to 1964, he worked at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City. From 1951 to 1964, he was professor of medicine there.
