Edward D. Freis

Edward D. Freis (May 13, 1912 – February 1, 2005) was an American physician and researcher, who received the Albert Lasker Award for his studies of the treatment of hypertension. Born in Chicago, Illinois to Lithuanian immigrant parents, he had his eyes set on becoming an actor. After a few shows, however, he realized that acting was not for him, and he decided to be a doctor.

Freis attended the University of Arizona and the Columbia University medical school. After graduation he joined the United States Army Air Corps, working in the medical corps during World War II.

When the war ended, he met Doctor Chester Keefer, who had done penicillin trials. Freis decided that he wanted to become a researcher. He went to work for the United States Veterans Affairs Administration in Washington, DC, specializing in the study of hypertenstion. At the time, it was felt by the medical community that high blood pressure was a good thing, because it improved circulation. But Freis's studies, first published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1954 then later expanded in the 1960s, showed that hypertension actually increased the likelihood of stroke and heart attack.

He was awarded the Lasker Award for his studies, cited for "an exemplary demonstration of the potential of preventive medicine."

In 1957, Freis was appointed professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. He was president of the Washington Heart Association and received an award of meritorious accomplishment from the American Heart Association. In later years, he moved on to the study of hemodynamics, the study of circulation.

Publications

*"The High Blood Pressure Book", with Gina Kolata, 1979