Philippe Dominique (Philip) Henry, MD, died on 3 January 2013 in Bethesda, Maryland. At the time of his death, he was the Chief of Cardiology, Director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Program, and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and the James H. Quillen College of Medicine. Born in 1935, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Berne in Berne, Switzerland, and was first in his class when he received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Berne. His medical residency was at the Department of Internal Medicine at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and his cardiology fellowship was at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Henry's chief research interests involved the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis and sudden cardiac death.
Figure. Philip D. Henry, MD
Photo courtesy of Dr. Olga Cabello Henry
Dr. Henry was an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego. He came into national and international prominence while working as an associate professor with Dr. Burton Sobel, Chief of Cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Hospital, and later as a professor in the Section of Cardiology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Important contributions of Dr. Henry and his colleagues to cardiovascular medicine included research studies that showed impaired coronary vascular relaxation and exaggerated coronary vascular constriction in atherosclerotic coronary arteries in animal models in response to hyperlipidemic states. He also evaluated the influence of calcium antagonists on these vascular responses and in protecting ischemic myocardium in animal models. With Dr. Sobel, he contributed to the development of methods to measure the creatine kinase–MB fraction as a marker of myocardial infarction and as a means to measure infarct size.
Dr. Henry published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, delivered more than 800 invited talks and lectures, and trained numerous cardiologists and researchers. Although for many years his passion was his research, he held his clinical duties, personal patient care, and training activities in highest regard during the later stages of his career. As meaningful as his scientific contributions were, it was probably his wry sense of humor, his enthusiasm for challenging cardiovascular dogma, his brilliant and inquisitive mind, and his indefatigable spirit that most endeared Dr. Henry to the leaders of cardiovascular medicine in our country and abroad.
The Henry family and the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine have established an award to the Outstanding Fellow in Cardiology at ETSU Heart. This annual award will recognize the individual who best embodies the combination of demonstrated scientific inquisitiveness, compassionate personal involvement in patient care, and commitment to academic collegiality that was the hallmark of Dr. Henry's career.
Dr. Philip Henry made important contributions to cardiovascular medicine over five decades. He also made important personal contributions as a free spirit and in providing a constant reminder that research discoveries and their translation to patient care needed to be of the highest order. I rarely encountered him without a smile on his face, no matter the issues affecting him at the moment. He was a very special educator, clinical scientist, and person. Phil Henry is survived by his wife of 25 years, Dr. Olga Cabello Henry; his children Stephen, Caroline, Paola, and Isabella; his grandchildren Julian and Sophia; and Ms Marcelle Henry. Cardiovascular medicine worldwide has lost a great friend.
James T. Willerson, MD
President and Medical Director, Texas Heart Institute, Houston