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Bernard Lown (June 7, 1921February 16, 2021) was a Lithuanian-American cardiologist and inventor. Lown was the original developer of the direct current
defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...
for cardiac resuscitation, and the cardioverter for correcting rapid disordered heart rhythms. He introduced a new use for the drug
lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia. When used for local anaesthesia or in nerve blocks, lidoca ...
to control heartbeat disturbances. Throughout his medical career, Lown focused on two major medical challenges: the problem of sudden cardiac death and the role of psychological stress on the cardiovascular system. His investigations led to many medical break-throughs, among them the coronary care unit. His work made possible and safe much of modern cardiac surgery, as well as a host of other innovations. In 1985, Lown accepted the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
on behalf of the
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries, representing doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned people who share the goal of ...
, an organization he co-founded with Soviet cardiologist Yevgeny Chazov, who later was Minister Of Health of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. Lown was Professor of Cardiology Emeritus at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...
, and Senior Physician Emeritus at the
Brigham and Women’s Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two f ...
,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts. He was the founder of the Lown Cardiovascular Center and Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He also founded the Lown Institute, which aims to reform both the healthcare system and society.


Early life and education

Lown was born in
Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the s ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
as Boruch Lac, on June 7, 1921, the son of Nison and Bela (Grossbard) Lac. His family was
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and one of his grandfathers was a
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
. They emigrated to
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
when Lown was 14, and he attended Lewiston High School, graduating in 1938. Lown went on to study zoology at the
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...
, obtaining a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from that institution in 1942. He subsequently earned an M.D. from
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...
in 1945. His medical training included
Yale-New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System. YNHH includes the 168-bed Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven, the 201-bed Yale New Have ...
(Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut);
Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Medical Center is a premier academic medical center and the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is located in the Norwoo ...
,
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, NY; and a cardiology fellowship at the
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...
(now Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston).“Bernard Lown and defibrillation,” M Eisenberg. Resuscitation, 2006; 69: 171-173 His mentor in cardiology was the renowned clinical cardiologist
Samuel A. Levine Samuel Albert Levine (January 1, 1891 – March 31, 1966) was an American cardiologist. The Levine scale, Levine's sign and Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome are named after him. The Samuel Albert Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospita ...
.The Lost Art of Healing, B Lown (Ballantine Books, 1996)


Development of the defibrillator

Lown helped raise international medical awareness of
sudden cardiac death Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
as a leading cause of mortality in the developed world. Based on patient observations, Lown concluded that sudden cardiac death was reversible and survivable, and that people who were successfully resuscitated could have a near normal life expectancy. Working with his mentor
Samuel A. Levine Samuel Albert Levine (January 1, 1891 – March 31, 1966) was an American cardiologist. The Levine scale, Levine's sign and Lown–Ganong–Levine syndrome are named after him. The Samuel Albert Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospita ...
, Lown realized that the high mortality of a heart attack, then 35 percent, was most likely due to a strict regimen of bed rest. Patients remained completely recumbent for six or more weeks. A major complication of bed rest was
pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...
, which accounted for a significant part of the mortality. Although Lown encountered enormous opposition and hostility among doctors to the so-called "chair treatment," in 81 patients so treated, mortality was reduced by two thirds. Once the work was published, the chair treatment was rapidly adopted and hospitalizations were reduced to several days. Untold lives were saved by getting patients out of bed. Until the 1950s,
ventricular fibrillation Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. It is due to disorganized electrical activity. Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and no p ...
of the heart could be treated with drug therapy alone. In 1956 American cardiologist
Paul Zoll Paul Maurice Zoll (July 15, 1911 – January 5, 1999) was a Jewish American cardiologist and one of the pioneers in the development of the artificial cardiac pacemaker and cardiac defibrillator. He graduated from Boston Latin School in 1928. Int ...
described resuscitations during open-heart surgery and, later after sudden cardiac death, by means of an alternating current (AC) electric shock, derived from a wall socket. AC current was untested as to its safety and efficacy and could cause death. In 1959, Lown demonstrated that AC was injurious to the heart and could be lethal. These investigations were conducted in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. The work was supported by Professor Frederick Stare, chairman of the Department of Nutrition. To find a safer method of cardiac resuscitation, Lown enlisted the help of Baruch Berkowitz, an electrical engineer employed by American Optical Company (AO). In their experimental work, Lown focused on two objectives: safety and efficacy. Alternating current caused burns in skeletal and heart muscle and induced atrial as well as ventricular fibrillation in a large majority of the animal experiments. During a year of intense experimentation, in 1961 Lown and coworkers proved that a specific direct current (DC) waveform consistently reversed ventricular fibrillation, restoring a normal heart beat without injuring heart or skeletal muscle. This became widely known as the "Lown waveform." It facilitated the worldwide acceptance of the defibrillator and cardioverter and improved survival of patients with coronary heart disease. The DC defibrillator provided a new approach for resuscitating patients and paved the way for new possibilities in cardiac surgery. The Lown clinical group were the first to use the defibrillator and cardioverter at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. Donald B. Effler was the first cardiac surgeon to use the DC defibrillator in 1962 at the
Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit American academic medical center based in Cleveland, Ohio. Owned and operated by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, an Ohio nonprofit corporation established in 1921, it runs a 170-acre (69 ha) campus in Cleveland, ...
. According to Effler, this advance made possible modern cardiac surgery. Indeed, in 1967, Rene Favoloro performed what is regarded as the first coronary artery bypass operation in Effler’s surgical department at Cleveland Clinic. DC defibrillation provided a safe way to restore a normal heart rhythm during the surgical bypass of obstructed coronary arteries. Lown went on to investigate the possibilities of the defibrillator to treat non-life-threatening tachycardias. He discovered that timing the electrical discharge outside the heart’s brief vulnerable period of 0.03 seconds in duration prevented ventricular fibrillation or sudden cardiac death. He called this method of timed DC discharge "Cardioversion." The cardioverter and DC defibrillator were especially valuable in coronary care units, when patients are hospitalized when most susceptible to sudden cardiac death and other potentially malignant arrhythmias. In addition to advancing medical technology, Lown discovered new applications for two drugs that were widely used for cardiac problems:
digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in sha ...
and lidocaine. Until the 1950s, digitalis poisoning was a major cause of fatality among patients with congestive heart failure. During a medical residency at the Montefiore Hospital in New York City, Lown demonstrated the critical role of potassium in determining the safe use of digitalis. His discovery led to abandonment of long acting digitalis drugs like digitoxin. Instead, the short acting digitalis glycoside gained universal acceptance. Lown also focused medical attention on potassium loss with the use of various diuretics. In 1964, Lown introduced a new use for the drug lidocaine to control ventricular disordered heart rhythms. Lidocaine was also used in coronary units to prevent the need for resuscitation. Previously, lidocaine was used almost exclusively by dentists as an anesthetic agent.


Fiber optics

In 1957, Lown was concerned with how to visualize an atherosclerotic aortic plaque occurring in the big coronary vessels that supply nutrients to the heart muscle. It was his hope that visualizing this would lead to discovering how to treat and prevent heart attacks and sudden cardiac death. A discussion with a close friend, Elias Snitzer, a physicist at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, led to an introduction to Michael Polanyi, a physicist with American Optical Company. At the time, Polanyi was working on
fiber optics An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...
. Lown received a grant from the Hartford Foundation to pursue fiber optics. However, optical technology was inadequate at the time, so this line of research was discontinued. Lown's work did show that, with fiber optics, it was possible to measure oxygen saturation in dogs, and determine the cardiac output in humans. Paradoxically, when Lown submitted two abstracts to the World Cardiology Conference in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1964, one on the defibrillator and cardioversion, and one dealing with fiber optics, the former was rejected and the latter accepted.


Peace activism


Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)

In early 1961, Lown called together a group of physicians from Boston’s teaching hospitals to address the mounting threat of nuclear war between the USSR and the USA. This political subject had not been addressed previously by physicians in the United States. The new organization called itself
Physicians for Social Responsibility Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a physician-led organization in the US working to protect the public from the threats of nuclear proliferation, climate change, and environmental toxins. It produces and disseminates publications, p ...
(PSR). Among the activist participants were Jack Geiger and Victor W. Sidel. By the end of 1961, the group had drafted five research articles about the medical consequences of a ten-megaton nuclear attack on the city of Boston, a magnitude considered both possible and likely by the U.S. military. The series, "The Medical Consequences of Thermonuclear War", was published as a symposium in the
New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hist ...
in May 1962. These articles encouraged anti-nuclear medical movements worldwide. Additionally, they helped pass the
Limited Test Ban Treaty The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted ...
in the U.S. Senate.


Committee of Responsibility for War Injured Vietnamese Children (COR)

Lown was also involved in organizing COR, the Committee of Responsibility to Save War Burned and War Injured Children, of which he was a leading member. This organization aimed to bring injured and burned Vietnamese children for treatment in the United States, in order "to bring the war home." COR was headed by Herbert Needelman. It arranged for several American hospitals to treat injured Vietnamese children for free. John Constable III, from the Shriner Burn Center of the
Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
in Boston, was among the first physicians to participate. He and other physicians traveled numerous times to Vietnam to choose children with injuries that could be treated. This mission could not be accomplished without ambulance planes ferrying the very sick children. Lown led a delegation to Washington for a meeting with William F. Bundy, then Assistant Secretary of State. He was persuaded to support the objective of COR. In 1967 the Pentagon began to transport Vietnamese children to the USA.


International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)

In 1980, Lown called on a small number of doctors to organize against the mounting nuclear threat that followed USSR's invasion of
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and the election of the Reagan administration. This small group of physicians, with the help largely of first-year Harvard medical students, formed the
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries, representing doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned people who share the goal of ...
(IPPNW). This IPPNW could not have been founded without the intimate friendship between Eugene Chazov and Lown. Both cardiologists, they had collaborated in researching the issue of sudden cardiac death, sponsored by the National Heart and Lung Institute. Lown headed the American Sudden Death Task Force, while Chazov headed the Soviet group of cardiologists. Frequent visits to the USSR with American cardiological colleagues promoted dialogue and understanding between physicians of the two hostile countries. They laid the groundwork for the IPPNW and made it possible. These events are described in Lown's memoir ''Prescription for Survival: A Doctor's Journey to End Nuclear Madness.'' The first IPPNW annual World Congress was held at Arlie House,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, in 1981. Eighty medical leaders from twelve countries attended. In 1982, the 2nd IPPNW Congress took place in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, England, with over 400 participants. Among the American participants were astrophysicist and science populizer
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
; Admiral
Noel Gayler Noel Arthur Meredyth Gayler ( ; December 25, 1913 – July 14, 2011) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as the sixth Director of the National Security Agency from 1969 to 1972, and ninth Commander of Pacific Command from 1972 to ...
, formerly head of the American Pacific Fleet, Director of the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
, and in charge of targeting nuclear weapons against he USSR; Howard Hiatt, Dean of the
Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...
; and Herbert Abrams, head of Radiology at the Harvard Medical School. Equally distinguished participants attended from the UK, Germany, and Scandinavian countries. A major breakthrough for IPPNW was arranged by Eugene Chazov in 1982 when three Soviet physicians and three American physicians appeared on a nationwide Soviet television network. The Soviet participants were Chazov, Michael Kuzin, and Leonid Ilyin; while the Americans were Lown, James Muller, and John Pastore. During this unprecedented telecast an audience of 100 million Soviet viewers heard for the first time an unedited discussion of the consequences of nuclear war. The program was later broadcast in the US. By 1985, IPPNW represented 135,000 physicians in 60 countries. In December of that year, Lown and Chazov accepted the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of IPPNW. Shortly thereafter, Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
invited IPPNW Co-presidents Lown and Chazov for a meeting in the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. The lengthy discussion covered a host of issues. Discussed was Gorbachev's unilateral moratorium on nuclear weapons testing, the arrest and detention of Nobel Laureate physicist
Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ˈdmʲitrʲɪjevʲɪtɕ ˈsaxərəf; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident, nobel laureate and activist for nu ...
in the city of Gorky, the north–south divide, and other important subjects.


International public health work


SatelLife and ProCor

Two organizations founded by Lown, SatelLife (1988) and ProCor (1997) were designed to aid physicians in developing countries by connecting them to relevant information on cardiovascular disease and its prevention. Their focus was on global inequities in healthcare and leveraging technology to promote health equality. SatelLife employed low earth-orbit satellites that circumnavigated the poles and were capable of reaching every point on earth four times daily. They provided access to medical literature to health professionals in developing countries. ProCor created an internet network of health workers in developing countries around the world. This internet-based community enabled physicians and health workers to access relevant and reliable medical information about cardiovascular disease. The focus was on disease prevention. It also offered an email-based forum for discussion. ProCor’s global outreach included The Ashanti-ProCor Project, launched in 2006, which was designed to assess cardiovascular disease knowledge and practice among health workers in the
Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in southern part of Ghana and it is the third largest of 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of or 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. In terms of population, however, it is the mo ...
of
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, identify those who can play a key role in prevention, and explore their information needs as a way to better address the needs of physicians in the developing world.


Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Healthcare

In 1996, Lown, with Stephanie Woolhandler and
David Himmelstein David U. Himmelstein is an American academic physician specializing in internal medicine. He is a distinguished professor of public health and health policy in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College, an adjunct clinical professor at ...
of the Cambridge City Hospital; Jerry Avorn, head of Pharmacoepidemiology at the Harvard Medical School; and Susan Bennett, a
primary care physician A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term ...
at Massachusetts General Hospital formed the Ad Hoc Committee to Defend Healthcare. Many health workers joined the Ad Hoc Committee, the objective of which was to promote a single-payer healthcare system in Massachusetts In 1997, a letter signed by over 2000 Massachusetts physicians and published in
The Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...
outlined the need for single-payer healthcare. The Ad Hoc Committee canvassed people throughout the state of Massachusetts to gain the 100,000 names necessary to put the issue on the ballot. The issue was put to referendum in Massachusetts in 2000. In spite of opposition, the referendum showed 45% of voters in favor of single-payer healthcare.


The Lown Institute and the Right Care Alliance

In 2012, the Lown Cardiovascular Research was renamed The Lown Institute. The Lown Institute addresses the growing crisis in healthcare in the US, marked by overtreatment, undertreatment, and mistreatment through research, clinical programs, and convenings. The Institute holds an annual conference where the newest research on overuse and underuse is presented, and where like-minded clinicians and patient advocates can share ideas. It also sponsors clinical programs to address overuse, such as the Right Care Educators program, Right Care Rounds, and the Right Care Vignette Competition. The Lown Institute is currently conducting research on risk-adjustment methods for evaluating patient outcomes. Among participants in the leadership of The Lown Institute are Nassib Chamoun, Vikas Saini, Shannon Brownlee, Thomas Graboys, Professor Joseph Brain, Patricia Gabow, Elizabeth Gilbertson, James Joslin, Aretha Davis, David Bor, Michael Fine, and Breck Eagle. The Lown Institute awards the Shkreli Awards named after
Martin Shkreli Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American former hedge fund manager. Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare; the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of ...
for "worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care". In 2020 it was awarded to the Trump administration’s federal personal protective equipment (PPE) taskforce. The Right Care Alliance (RCA) is the sister organization of The Lown Institute and the advocacy wing. The Right Care Alliance brings together clinicians, patients, and community members in a grassroots movement advocating for a universally accessible, affordable, safe, and effective healthcare system. The RCA is organized into specialty councils and regional chapters that organize on topics specific to their specialty or region. The RCA holds an annual week of action, during which members organize activities to demonstrate compassionate, patient-centered care, such as engaging the broader community in listening and storytelling. In 2018 the organization started analyzing data about 3,200 hospitals to access performance in terms of racial inclusivity and health equity. The resulting report was released in 2021.


Personal life

Lown married Louise Lown, a cousin of his, in 1946. They remained married until her death in 2019. Together, they had three children: Anne, Fredric, and Naomi. Lown died on February 16, 2021, at his home in
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Chestnut Hill is an affluent New England village located west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is located within one or more incorporated municipal entities. It is located partia ...
. He was 99, and suffered from congestive heart failure and pneumonia prior to his death.


Awards and honors

Lown has received numerous awards including the Golden Door Award from the International Institute of Boston; the Dr. Paul Dudley White Award from the American Heart Association; the Distinguished Emeritus Professor from Harvard School of Public Health; the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and the highest honor from the country of Lithuania: the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, the
Gandhi Peace Award The Gandhi Peace Award is an award and cash prize presented annually since 1960 by Promoting Enduring Peace to individuals for "contributions made in the promotion of international peace and good will." It is named in honor of Mohandas Karamch ...
, and the first Cardinal Medeiros Peace Award, as well as 21 honorary degrees from universities both in the United States and abroad. In 1993, he delivered the Indira Gandhi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. The bridge that connects the cities of Lewiston and Auburn in Maine was renamed The Bernard Lown Peace Bridge upon an act by the state legislature that was signed into law by Governor John Baldacci in 2008. The Brigham and Women's Hospital in 2009 established the Bernard Lown Educational award. The recipient is selected by staff and students. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which Lown co-founded, won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.


Honors from the Harvard School of Public Health

Th
Lown Scholars Program
at the Harvard School of Public Health aims to assist promising health professionals who live and work in low- and middle-income countries. " he programis designed to create an international cadre of talented health professionals ..who will use public health tools and strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease and promote cardiac health."


The Lown Visiting Professor

In 2012, a visiting Professorship was established whose function is to coordinate the courses afforded to the Lown Scholars as well as help promote cardiovascular preventative programs in low- and middle-income countries.


Lown bibliography

* Lown B, Levine SA: Current Advances in Digitalis Therapy. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1954. * Lown B, Levine HD: Atrial Arrhythmias, Digitalis and Potassium. New York: Landberger Medical Books, 1958. * Vikhert AM, Lown B: Sudden Death (in Russian). Moscow: Medithinya, 1982. * Lown B, Malliani A, Prosdocimi M (eds.): Neural Mechanisms and Cardiovascular Disease. Padova, Italy: Liviana Press, 1986. * Lown, B: To Heal a Sick Planet. Hiroshima, Japan: Chugoku Shimbun, 1991. * Lown B: Never Whisper in the Presence of Wrong. Cambridge, MA: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1993. * Lown B: Practicing the Art While Mastering the Science. Brookline, MA: Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation, 1995. * * * Lown B: Tributes to a Teacher: Clinical Pearls. Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Brookline, MA, 2008. Lown is also the author or co-author of 52 chapters. He is the author or co-author of 447 publications in scientifically refereed journals.


References


External links

* *
The Lown Cardiovascular Research Foundation




* ttps://www.humanmedia.org/catalog/program.php?products_id=54 The Lost Art of Healing -- interview from the public radio program "Humankind"
Bernard Lown papers
1933-2033 (inclusive, 1960-1995 (bulk), HMS c300. Harvard Medical Library
Harvard Medical School

The Lown Blog
about medical, social, and political issues (33 essays as of 12 April 2014).
The Lown Conversation
an episodic intergenerational conversation dealing with the crisis in health care (30 essays as of 12 April 2014). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lown, Bernard 1921 births 2021 deaths American anti–nuclear weapons activists American anti-war activists American cardiologists 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors American Jews Harvard School of Public Health faculty Johns Hopkins School of Medicine alumni Lithuanian emigrants to the United States Lithuanian Jews Medical educators People from Lewiston, Maine People from Utena University of Maine alumni Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Members of the National Academy of Medicine