E 12340

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - Extensionr o/

VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION PHY-
SCIAN. EDWARD D. FREIS. M.D..
RECEIVES   LASKER   MEDICAL
AWARD FOR   HYPERTENSION
CLINICAL RESEARCH

  HON. OLIN E. TEACUE
         OF TT.XIS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Wednesday. November 17, 1971
Mr. TEAGUE of Texas. Mr. S1wnkrr.

throughout the extensive VA hospitnl
system there are currently about 5.000
ongoing medical research projerts to help
broaden man's knowledge to help save
and prolong the lives of tens of thou-
sands of people.

Mr. Speaker, in New York on Thurs-
day. November 11. 1971. an outstanding
physician. Dr. Edward D. Freis of th?
Veterans' Administration's Department
of Medicine and Surgery. who is current -
Iv on the staff of the Washinrrton. D.C.
Veterans' Administration Hospitai re-
ceived national recognition for a&eve-
medts in medical research. At that time.
before an assembled group of many of
the leaders in American medicine and
health care. Dr. Freis was presented the
Clinical Research Award of the Albert
and Mary Lasker Foundation for his
work in demonstrating the lifesaving ef-
fectlveness of diagnosis and treatment
of one of the most common forms of
heart disease.

It is of interest to note t.hat this h1ghl.v
coveted award to biomedical rcsearrhel-s
was establlshed in 1946. and that 22 win-
ners of this award have subsequently re-
ceived Nobel Prizes for tht=ir work.

The basis for the award to Dr. Freis.
and the method in which the research
w-as planned and carried out is an out-
standing example of the capacity of bhe
health care system of the Veterans' Ad-
ministration to do what no other single
health care system or institution in
America can do. By utilizing the staff
and facilities of its 166 hosoitals. 202
clinics. and 73 nursing homes; thai sys-
tem has the unique capa,city for cooper-
ative research. Through this system,
studies of the efficacy of the clinical use
of various professional techniques andi
or therapeutic drugs can be carried out
in the shortest possible time with a maxi-
mum of accuracy, a minimum of expense,
and be mare available for immediate
use. As a result, this knowledge can not
only be applied to the life-saving care
and treatment of veterans, but can sub-
sequently be made available to all people
through the scientific community of this
country and the world.

The following wording of the Citation

awarded to Dr. Freis details his outstand-
ing achievement:

Dr. Frels hae demonstrated the Me-a&vlnu
efiectlvenese 01 the use of drugs in the treat:
ment or mcdernte hypertenelon, and the dra-
matlc reductlo" "f-de&he from etroke and
collgestlve hcsrt failure. which CM be real-
ized when blood pressure 1s kept wlthln
norm*1 untitn

Hypertcnslm--or hlgh blood pressure-Is
R lendlna cnuf.c 01 stroke. Stroke. 1" turn.
kills o& 200.000 Amer1cnn.s a year. and 18
the third lending c,,nse ol death L" our ooun-

tr,

Hypcrtrnslon nffrcln almmt 23 mllllon
A"wrlr.~n. wld 1s 3 mn,or public health
problem
Dr Frrls has hcen working on hypertension
for over 25 vrnrs His recent contribution has

2-Thnt drllp trr~lment 1s G'I', effective In
prewullw m;~Jor CO~I~I~CRI~O~~ which RI&~
from P:L..SC'I aI rvelr n;?dcrstely high blood
pressure l'ilchr rompllr`ntlons Include. nmong
otllers. strokes. congcsuve heart Iallure. and
kldnry l~l,,,rc
Dr Frlcr' study oilers D. momentous oppor-
t,,nlly lo c,,,,Ical nwd,c,"e.
It In RI) errmplnry demonstrntlon of the
potentin, of preventive medlclne for sav,ng
and "rolonalna the ll\`es of tens of thousands

For. Dr Frels' dedlcntlon and "erhlhtent

It slmuld also be noted with great
interest by those concerned with the
question of bridging the gap of scientific
knowledge between the laboratory and
the bedside, that Dr. Freis. in his ac-
ceptance speech, in the great tradition
of American medicine, called for a major
effort in this area. He stated:

l`hnnk you "11 behnlf of m,vself r,nd all of
those who hnvr mnde this ndxxnce against
hypertension poi\ible. Amnzlngly the co"-
quest of ibis I""`>, common of diseases has
rrceived little public ntte"tlon. Pet. if we
apply the knowled:c we already have we can
co!ltro, modernte hypertension now.
There we liternlly nxll~ons of Amer~~ns
Who do not eve" know that they have high
blood preisure. There 1s. therefore, the need
to develop adequate mass screening for the
detection of hypertension as well as more
effective prograIns i" public education.

How may these goals be achieved? Firstly.
by B greater effort, on the part of national
and local governments to provide facilities
and "rrsonnel for the detection end treat-
ment of hypertension in the general popu-
letlo". Secondly. the news media. such as
television. r&did. newspapers and &,ga.zlnes
should publicize effectively the simple truth
t:lat hvDerte"slo" now 1s a controllable dis-
ease. Thie Is fa real challenge for creative
journalism. Thirdly, volunteer health agen-
cies should ilctively lead and guide this effort,

Remarks November 17, 197'1

The problem Is one of public education and
It Is too bla t.o be left entlrel~ to the prac-
tlclng physicIan.
There isW,lll Bnother problem which re-
qulres public attention. Although the drug8
we have today ore good they are not Ideal.
None LB ellectlve In ~11 "atlen'ta and none IS
entirely free of BLde ellects. However, no new
antI-hyperte"slve druga hsve been approved
by the-&d and Drug-Admlnlstratl"~~," the
past 1" ye.ue. This is 1" strlklng contra& to
the sltnetlo" in Europe where several new
drugs have bee" lnlrod~ad recently and are
being used with beneflt by hvopea" physl-
~1~"s. Becnuc the American pharmaceutical
compnnles sre Rnding thst drug research 1"
hypertonslon Ls a frustrating and unproflt-
"ble entcrprlse. their great talents and know-
how nrc 1" large ">e.?sure belng dIrected Into
other chn"nela Itltormed public opinion Is
needed to restore B cl1nmt.e 1" the FDA where
new drug research in hypertension will be
encouraged rather than dlxouraged.

Recent surveys have shown that only 20%
of the pntlenta with persistent hypertenslo"
In the United Stntcs are recelvlng effective
trentment. This fzuzt points up the real need
for rnsu: screenlug and detectlen of hyper-
tension 111 iI-5 early stages: for lntenslve pub-
Ilc rduratlou. for provislon of adequate treat-
ment f~c1IIlles: and finally. for a concerted
rewwch effort to de"e,op eve" more safe and
etfectlve drugs than are available today.

Mr. Speaker. I want to take this op-
portunity to publicly congratulate Dr.
Frcis and the Veterans' Administration
on this outstanding achievement, and I
hope that it will be possible to expand
these research programs in the future so
that this rrent work can be accelerated.