Biography

     Francisco Torrent-Guasp, was born in 1931 in Gandía (Valencia. Spain). He was a medical student at Salamanca and Complutensis Madrid Universities (Spain) from 1950 to 1955, where he becomes doctor on Medicine and Surgery. Working with Prof. Gómez Oliveros he starts, being a IVth year student, anatomical investigations about the structure and function of the heart, that he will continue for more than 25 years, performing during this period of time, disections on more than 1000 hearts of all the living beings, including worms, fishes, reptiles, and mammalians, including man obviously. His extraordinary discovery about the VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIAL BAND, conceived as a continued muscle band, leading cause to be proposed as an oficial candidate for the Nobel Prize of Medicine in 1978.

     1954: EL CICLO CARDIACO (THE CARDIAC CYCLE); is a monograph published while a 4th year medical student at the University of Salamanca (Spain).

     1957: ANATOMIA FUNCIONAL DEL CORAZON (FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF THE HEART). Is an anatomical research on heart structure, supported by "Sociedad de Autores y Publicaciones". Madrid.

     1959: AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ON HEART DYNAMICS. A report on experimental work on heart physiology (Eugene Taldmadge Hospital. Augusta. Georgia. USA). Supported by a fellowship of The American Heart Association and The Public Health Service of the USA.

     1960-1970: Anatomical research, publications, and lectures continued.

     1970: THE ELECTRICAL CIRCULATION. Theoretical work published followed by a lecture at the University of Friburg (Germany), leading to a publication jointly with Prof. A. Puff, entitled; LA DINAMICA VALVULAR (VALVULAR DYNAMICS). An invited lecture at Guy's Hospital (London) was followed by four more up to 1977. A meeting with the well known surgeon Donald Ross, interested in Torrent-Guasp's proposal concerning mitral valve prothesis, at the VIth World Congress of Cardiology in London (UK), led to five invited lectures at The National Heart Hospital (London).

     1972: Always enphasising anatomical research of the heart, and supported by "Fundación Juan March" (Spain), presented invited lectures at the Universities of Stockholm, Göteborg, Amsterdam, Leyden, Hannover, París (La Pitié), Milan (Prof. Folli), and Rome (Prof. Cortesini). Coming back to Spain he is nominated Associate Professor of Physiology at Barcelona Autonomous University, where he presented THE CARDIAC MUSCLE, a publication sponsorized trough a grant of "Fundación Juan March".

     1973: Twenty nine invited lectures supported by "Fundación Juan March" are given in the Universities of Harvard, New York (Mount Sinai), Philadelphia, Charleston, Birmingham, St Louis, Toledo, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis (Mayo Clinic), and afterward, gave the Annual National Heart Hospital Surgical Lecture in London (UK).

     1978: Nominated by The Nobel Prize, at the suggestion of Queen Sophia of Spain, The Science and Education Ministry of Spanish Governement, and Archiduke Andres Salvador Habsburgo-Lorena of Austria. He received the same year in Geneva (Switzerland) the "Miguel Servet Prize" for his long and meritorious scientific research line. Soon after, he travels to Japan to give a lecture in the University of Tokyo, Department of Anatomy, Prof. Yohro.

     1980: LA ESTRUCTURA MACROSCOPICA DEL MIOCARDIO VENTRICULAR (MACROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIUM). An anatomical work collecting the major points on his anatomical research, is published in "Revista Española de Cardiología"

     1982: Two invited lectures (Prof. Merker) at Berlin University (Germany).

     1983: One invited lecture at Münster University (Germany) led to a a close and going collaboration with Prof Lunkenheimer with several results.

     1985: KARDIODYNAMIK: WEGE ZUR STRUKTURGERECHTEN ANALYSE DER MYOKARDFUNKTION, a monograph published in German in collaboration with Prof. Lunkenheimer.

     1987: ESTRUCTURA Y MECANICA DEL CORAZON (STRUCTURE AND MECHANICS OF THE HEART); a morphological and functional study, published in collaboration with Professors Lunkenheimer, Zarco, Streeter, Ceon Ramon, Fariña, and Aragoncillo. During the following eight years he alternates his heart anatomical research work with a philosophic approach on the evolution ot the living beings.

     1995: The collaboration with Prof. Lunkenheimer, led, under the leadership of Prof. Torrent-Guasp, to the "FIRST WORKSHOP ON CARDIAC STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE" held in Alicante (Spain). The meeting, attended for 48 experts from all over the world, was supported by Prof J. Cosín and Dr. Sogorb, under the auspicies of The European, Spanish, and Valenciana Societies of Cardiology. Publication of a videotape containing a real disection of a heart, made and explained by Prof. Torrent-Guasp. An elastic mould of the heart, made up by Dr. Torrent-Guasp, was delivered to the assistants.

     1996: Felowship of the European Society of Cardiology, and Gold Medal of the Spanish Society of Cardiology. He shares the President's Lecture with Prof. Ingels (Stanford University, Palo Alto. Calif. USA) about "LA BANDA MIOCARDICA VENTRICULAR" ("THE VENTRICULAR MYOCARDIAL BAND") during the XXXII Congress of the Spanish Society of Cardiology.

Prof. Torrent-Guasp is Honored Member of the Spanish Society of Cardiology, and distinguished researcher of its Hypertension Working Group. At present time, he is continuing his anatomical and functional research about the structure of myocardial band on hypertensive hearts, and on the anatomical specimens with congenital malformed hearts, in collaboration with the Cardiac Hypertensive Unit at Ramón y Cajal University Hospital (Madrid), with the Department of Pathology, and with the Service of Pediatric Cardiology of the previous mentioned hospital. Many members of the Spanish Hypertension Working Group are collaborators of Prof. Torrent-Guasp.