This paper gives a brief account of how doctors who were either native to or actively working in Tayside helped to shape the early development of cardiology. It exemplifies how important contributions to the understanding and practice of medicine can be made by an exceptional individual or an inspired team, no matter how unlikely the initial setting for their work might appear. The remarkable role that Sir James Mackenzie played in the understanding and fostering of this speciality in its infancy is outlined. The paper also describes the transformation of Dundee Royal Infirmary’s meagre facilities after the Second World War into a dynamic centre of excellence in cardiology services in the 1960s, becoming in effect a prototype for the highly acclaimed ‘embedding’ of clinical care, teaching and research at the new Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee.
