A medical doctor at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Washington, D.C., Freis ran a five-year study to study hypertension (high blood pressure) in the 1960s.
At the time, high blood pressure was thought to be a benefit, a way to increase circulation to the brain and extremities. For the study, one group of men with hypertension was given a diuretic to decrease their blood pressure; another set of men with hypertension, the control group, was given a placebo. The results were clear: the control group had 21 serious health complications — stroke, heart attack, or death — but the treated group only had one.
Freis received the Albert Lasker Award for clinical medical research in 1971, citing him for research which was “an exemplary demonstration of the potential of preventive medicine.” Dr. Freis died February 1 from organ failure. He was 92.