JOHN LARAGH

LARAGH--John H. MD. The Hypertension Center at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center mourns the loss of our founder and mentor John H. Laragh, MD. Dr. Laragh started the Hypertension Center in the 1970's. He was a true pioneer in the field; his passion for exploring and understanding the mechanisms of hypertension resulted in brilliant clinical investigations and development of a paradigm for treatment that remains relevant, useful and innovative even today. He loved medicine and his patients and they admired and loved him in return. His original discovery of the role of aldosterone in malignant hypertension led to an understanding of the important role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in hypertension, and ultimately, to the discovery of drugs that block the system and are used widely today to treat not only hypertension but also heart disease and kidney disease. His curiosity, command of the literature, and his innovative thinking of hypertension as a heterogeneous condition that requires individualized treatment presaged the advent of precision medicine by decades. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him and we miss his brilliance, humor and creativity. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Dr. Jean Sealey, his sons John and Robert, his daughter-in- law Marci, and granddaughter Eliana.

The Hypertension Center Division of Nephrology and Hypertension New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Phyllis August, MD, MPH Frances Gillen Rochelle G. Katz Marie Ange Losco Samuel J. Mann, MD Rosemerie Marion, ANP Franco B. Mueller, MD Mark Pecker, MD