Heart Smart: Paul Whelton Recognized by AHA
Loyola University Health System President and CEO Paul Whelton, MB, MD, MSc, has been awarded the American Heart Association's 2007 Population Research Prize for his 20 years of work that answered key questions about the scope and severity of heart and vascular diseases and their risk to populations worldwide. The award was presented at the opening session of the American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions on November 4, 2007, in Orlando, Fla. Much of what the scientific community currently knows about the prevalence of hypertension worldwide is owing to Whelton and his colleagues. Whelton, who became president and CEO of LUHS in February 2007, and his team recently produced the first set of worldwide estimates on the extent of the disease and published the first national estimates of causes of death in China. He began working to identify the roles that high blood pressure and diabetes play as risk factors for kidney disease in the 1980s and is considered a pioneer in the field.
AHA President Daniel W. Jones singled out Whelton's leadership in identifying ways to prevent and treat high blood pressure without the use of drugs. Whelton continues to conduct innovative, population-based trials that examine the roles of nutrition and physical activity in preventing and treating hypertension.