Harriet P. Dustan

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Harriet Pearson Dustan
United States Veterans Administration
University of Vermont
Known forHypertension research and treatment
Board member ofAmerican Board of Internal Medicine
American Heart Association
American College of Physicians (ACP) Board of Regents
AwardsAmerican Medical Association's Scientific Achievement Award
Lifetime Achievement Award of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research
American College of Cardiology's Distinguished Service Award

Harriet Pearson Dustan (1920–1999) was an American physician who is known for her pioneering contributions to effective detection and treatment of hypertension. She was the first woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Early life and education

Dustan was born in 1920 in

Mary Fletcher Hospital, which is now the Medical Center Campus at Fletcher Allen Health Care, in Burlington Vermont. She then moved to Montreal to do her residency in internal medicine at Royal Victoria Hospital.[4]

Medical career

Following her residency, Dustan returned to Burlington in 1946 to help establish the medical student teaching program at Bishop DeGosbriand Hospital. In 1948, she moved to the

University of Vermont College of Medicine
.

Throughout her career, Dustan held a number of leadership and advisory positions, leaving a lasting footprint on the medical community. In 1973, she became the first woman on the Board of Governors of the

NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, establishing national clinical practice guidelines.[4]

Research contributions

During her medical career, Dustan was involved in a series of innovations that have advanced the detection and treatment of hypertension.[7] At the Cleveland Clinic, she worked in the Research Division with Drs. Irvine Page and Arthur C. Corcoran where she became a leading force in the field of hypertension.[8][9] There, she was among the first to suggest that reducing dietary sodium could lower hypertension and risk for other cardiac disorders.[10][11][12] In addition to recommendations for hypertension prevention, she advanced the medical field's understanding of the mechanisms underlying hypertension and helped develop early anti-hypertensive treatments. For instance, she studied the effects of serotonin in constricting blood vessels, which is now a treatment used in antidepressants.[3] She also worked to characterize the role of the blood enzyme renin in hypertension—which is an often underdiagnosed cause of hypertension—and studied the effects of discontinuing anti-hypertensive medications in patients with hypertension.[13] She was also a member of the team that established selective renal arteriography to track circulation in the kidneys and develop a reference standard by which to guide treatment and interventions.[14][15] In so doing, her work transformed hypertension from a death sentence to a treatable disease.

Legacy

Following her death on June 27, 1999, Dr. Edward D. Frohlich, a colleague and scientist at the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, noted Dr. Dustan's keen intellect, delightful sense of humor, and service to humanity.[3] In 2008, the American Heart Association established the Harriet Dustan Award in her honor, which is presented to female investigators who have made outstanding contributions in the field of hypertension.[6]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b Oral History Collection on Women in Medicine (PDF). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Medical College of Pennsylvania. 1978. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  2. ^ University of Vermont, College of Medicine Bulletin. University of Vermont College of Medicine Catalogs. 1944. p. 61.
  3. ^
    PMID 10454434
    .
  4. ^
    National Library of Medicine
    . Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  5. PMID 2405868
    .
  6. ^ a b c "Harriet Dustan Award". professional.heart.org. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  7. ^ Page, Irvine H.; Dustan, Harriet P. (1973). Hypertension Drug Treatment. American Heart Association.
  8. PMID 5436376
    .
  9. PMID 5496546
    .
  10. PMID 13385334
    .
  11. PMID 4879106
    .
  12. PMID 2661426
    .
  13. S2CID 779226
    .
  14. PMID 14082916
    .
  15. PMID 5915557
    .
  16. ^ Meghann Williams (2017-09-26). "This is a listing of all recipients of ACP National Awards" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  17. ^ "Honorary Degrees | Cleveland State University" (PDF). 2018-07-24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
  18. ^ American College of Cardiology Distinguished Awardees
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