© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
In Memoriam
Caroline Bedell Thomas, MD
1904–1997
Dr Caroline Bedell
Thomas, a pioneer in the study of hypertension and preventive medicine,
died on December 14, 1997, at the age of 93. A remarkable physician,
investigator, and educator, she contributed much to our knowledge of
hypertension and risk factors for cardiovascular disease early in life.
A native of Ithaca, NY, she graduated summa cum laude from Smith
College in 1925. She performed graduate work in the Department of
Biology at the Johns Hopkins University (1925–1926) and subsequently
studied for her doctor of medicine degree at the Johns Hopkins School
of Medicine (1926–1930). Following house staff training at the Johns
Hopkins Hospital, she was a postdoctoral fellow in neuropathology
(1933–1934) under the direction of Dr Stanley Cobb at Harvard
University and a postdoctoral fellow in physiology (1934–1935) under
the direction of Dr Philip Bard at Johns Hopkins. In 1935 she joined
the faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she focused
her attention on the study of neurogenic models of hypertension as well
as the effects of sympathectomy on blood pressure. Dr Warfield T.
Longcope, who was her mentor and Chair of the Department of Medicine,
invited her to start an adult cardiac clinic. With characteristic
energy and determination, she organized a clinic where provision of
high-quality care was complemented by an equally strong commitment to
research focused on the treatment and prevention of disease.
Extrapolating from studies in mice, she conducted a pioneering 4-year
investigation in which she and Dr Richard France demonstrated that
prophylactic administration