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(Hypertension. 2005;45:825.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

In Memoriam

Edward D. Freis, MD (1912–2005)

Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, La

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Introduction

 
With feelings of sadness and thoughts of pride, this communication is written to the hypertension community worldwide to express our honor and to celebrate the life and contributions of Edward D. Freis, MD, who died after a brief illness on February 1, 2005, at the age of 92 years. Ed Freis is widely known as the father of the first multicenter, double-blinded, random trial of cardiovascular drugs, the Veterans Administration Cooperative Study on Antihypertensive Agents. It was his series of studies that demonstrated the efficacy of antihypertensive drug therapy and dramatic reduction of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality for the treatment of hypertensive diseases. This work stands out as a landmark achievement in medicine. Moreover, his efforts to promote national and worldwide attention to the mass treatment of hypertensive patients initiated a new era of public health medicine, preventive cardiology. For the concept and design of the Veterans Administration trials, Edward D. Freis was honored by the Albert Lasker Foundation Clinical Research Award in 1971, the Minot Lecture of the American Medical Association in 1973, the James D. Bruce Award in Preventive Medicine by the American College of Physicians in 1977, the Middleton Award of the Veterans Administration for Medical Research in 1980, the Howard W. Blakeslee Award by the American Heart Association in 1980, and the CIBA Award for Hypertension Research by the Council for High Blood Pressure Research (American Heart Association) in 1981, among many others. It was Freis’ contributions that provided the impetus for the establishment of the . . . [Full Text of this Article]