In Memoriam

Dr. Edward D. Frohlich, Alton Ochsner Distinguished Scientist and Staff Member of the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana passed away on Friday, August 16, 2019, in New Orleans. Dr. Frohlich was a member of a generation of physician investigators who cemented the knowledge base leading to the modern understanding of the pathophysiology of high blood pressure and its treatment. As recounted by Ventura¹, Ed became the Editor-in-Chief of the American Heart Association journal, HYPERTENSION (1994–2002) and previously served in the same capacity for the Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine. Throughout his exemplary career, Frohlich held academic appointments as Professor of Medicine and of Physiology at Louisiana State University, and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at Tulane University. Additional appointments included honorary designations as the George Lynn Cross Research Professor of Medicine and as Professor of Physiology and of Pharmacology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK. Among the multiple national and international awards, Dr. Frohlich was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Inter-American Society of Hypertension (1999) and the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control® (COSEHC) in 1997. Dr. Frohlich was presented with the Okamoto International Award in Tokyo for his “outstanding contributions on the pathogenesis, pathophysiology and treatment of hypertension” and the Distinguished Achievement Award of the AHA, and the Lifetime Achievement Awards of the AHA’s Council on Hypertension (formerly the Council for High Blood Pressure Research). His peers recognized Dr. Frohlich’s achievements with a Mastership and Laureate Award for distinguished contributions to the medical profession by the American College of Physicians and honorary memberships to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Buenos Aires Argentina, and the Colombian and Peruvian Cardiovascular Societies.

Following in the steps of Irvine H. Page M.D., his revered mentor, Dr. Frohlich’s professional commitment to medicine was exhibited through his leadership efforts for cardiovascular societies such as the AHA, American College of Cardiology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the World Health Organization. In the pursuit of changing physicians’ attitudes regarding hypertension treatment, Ed became a founding member of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program.²

Dr. Frohlich was an outstanding researcher successfully bridging the complexity of laboratory research with the delivery of patient care. As an eminent clinician-scientist, Edward D. Frohlich contributed to our understanding of the consequences of blood pressure elevation on cardiac function and systemic hemodynamics. His contributions to medicine are documented in over 1,100 papers (516 original papers listed in PubMed), chapters, editorials and close to 50 books. Ed’s first publication co-authored with Edward Freis MD, the award-winning medical researcher, was the first publication detailing the changes in cardiac output after treatment with chlorothiazide.³ As recounted elsewhere¹, Frohlich’s fellowship with Freis defined his future investigative career in cardiovascular medicine and in hypertension. During the ensuing years, Dr. Frohlich spearheaded new knowledge on the hemodynamic mechanisms of antihypertensive drugs including thiazide diuretics and beta-adrenolytic agents. In his exemplary ability to merge knowledge of the clinical and basic science of hypertension, Frohlich was the first to document abnormalities of the electrocardiogram P wave in hypertensive patients correlating it with left ventricular involvement.⁴ Further contributions included scholar activities leading to a better understanding of intracellular expression of local tissue renin angiotensin systems in the heart.^{5, 6} This work was thematically intertwined with his long-term contributions to unravel the mechanisms by which heart function and structure are affected by the development of hypertension.

Dr. Jasmina Varagic (former Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston Salem NC) and I had the good fortune of knowing Ed Frohlich as a colleague and a sincere friend. I (CMF) first met Ed Frohlich in joining the Research Division of the Cleveland Clinic in 1966 as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Irvine H. Page and James W. McCubbin. Ed and I shared common interests in exploring the nature of the progressive hemodynamic alterations accounting for hypertension development. His teachings during those years left a permanent mark in my later professional development. The years we worked together under Page’s tutelage left a permanent mark in our later professional activities. Both Ed and Ferrario remained quite loyal to Page’s teachings and as recent as a few weeks ago they reminisced of his teaching regarding the conduct of scientific activities, our common concerns about the modern attitudes of scientific endeavors, and the need for young investigators to avoid too many social and committee’s appointments. Ed’s devotion to IH Page can be reflected by the words he printed in Ventura’s published conversation with him.¹ To quote: ….“Dr. Page passed on, he said to me, “I am glad you put the heart into hypertension.” That was a real compliment from a man who was parsimonious with his spontaneous verbal awards. I’d like to think it was earned in essential hypertension.” In our modest opinion, we truly think you did!

As a colleague of Ed Frohlich at Ochsner for forty years and as an associate editor of Hypertension during his tenure as editor, Richard N Re MD was inspired by Frohlich’s commitment and many contributions to the advancement of medical research and scholarship, as well as by his passion for mentoring young physicians and scientists. Dr. Re underscores Dr. Frohlich’s intense dedication to the care of his patients many of whom considered him as close or closer than a family member. Ed often said he chose to work at a clinic rather than at a University because of the enhanced opportunity to interact with and help patients. He certainly made the most of that opportunity to the benefit of a great many people. Dr. Gabriel Navar remembers his first interactions with Dr. Frohlich after joining the Department of Physiology at Tulane University in 1998. Frohlich’s enthusiasm for expanding educative activities strengthened the development of a Hypertension and Renal Center of Excellence at Tulane University. According to Navar, Ed was very supportive of this Center and was always willing to present at their bimonthly seminars. In 1993 Dr. Frohlich asked Navar to serve as associate editor of Hypertension along with Richard Re. Those eight years of close association with Frohlich left Navar with a lasting impression of Frohlich’s impressive attributes including his vast knowledge, organizational skills, and warm and caring efforts in support of his colleagues. Navar’s acknowledgment of Frohlich personal attributes as a leading clinician scientist were reflected in their mutual research interests in the local tissue renin-angiotensin system and its role in hypertension. Their collaborative efforts are documented in 14 journal articles and several chapters in books edited in collaboration with Richard Re. Navar’s appreciation for Dr. Frohlich role as a colleague are expressed in his final commentary to Ferrario: “I look back with great fondness and remembrance on those years that I had the pleasure and privilege of working closely with Ed.”

As recounted by Jasmina Varagic, Frohlich was a great mentor to many young researchers. As a postdoctoral fellow, and later as a Staff Scientist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Varagic and Frohlich advanced the concept that sodium may directly impair target organ function in hypertension.^{7, 8} Dr. Varagic remembers him as an inspiring and thought-provoking teacher who was always eager to provide guidance in challenging situations. She remembers with fondness, Dr. Frohlich’s annual New Year’s address to his research team. At each of these occasions, he updated his collaborators on the past year professional and family life happenings and demanded the same from each of them. He was proud to read about their accomplishments, promotions, new positions, and above all, the successes attained by their children. While each of the co-authors of this tribute to Dr. Frohlich could express numerous testimonies to his accomplishments, Ventura’s words resonate for all of us. “It was 38 years ago that I had the great fortune and honor to be asked by Ed to come to the Ochsner Clinic to do research in the field of hypertension. It was the best professional step that I ever taken because I met and got to know Ed. His enthusiasm for research was contagious and his kindness was second to none. He was always happy when a manuscript was published and made you feel that you were the best researcher in the world. I had multiple conversations with Ed about different subjects including the history of medicine, music, and his favorite singer Tony Bennett. I remember these conversations as major highlights in my life. Ed was my teacher and my mentor. He always liked to tell me that a mentor is a loyal friend, confidant and advisor, a teacher, guide, coach and role model.” Ed was a giant, a great person, a pioneer in hypertension and most of all a gentleman. “Farewell Ed and God speed!”

In 2015, the Harvard Medical School at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA, established the Edward D. Frohlich, MD Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Pathophysiology, not only in recognition of his contribution to cardiovascular medicine, but also for his consistent and unselfish commitment to mentor young physicians and scientists. “If you were fortunate to have Professor Frohlich as a mentor it was for life rather than a project” so related to us Marc A Pfeffer, MD, PhD (Dr. Frohlich’s first PhD student; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School Boston MA) Ed’s contributions to science, medicine, and the fostering of highest principles of research ethos will remain with us forever.

Figure 1.

Edward D Frohlich (9/1931 – 8/2019)