Bernard Lown was born in Utena, Lithuania back in 1921 to Nison and Bela. The family moved to Maine when he was 14. He attended Lewiston High School graduating in 1938. He continued his education at the University of Maine graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1942. He earned his M.D. from John Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1945.
He received his cardiology fellowship at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He helped raise international awareness of sudden cardiac death as a leading cause of mortality. Based on his observation he concluded that sudden cardiac death was reversible and survivable. Back then the mortality of a heart attack was most likely due to a strict regimen of bed rest which caused a pulmonary embolism accounting for most of the deaths. He died in 2021, he was 99.
What you may not know about Dr. Lown is that he was the original developer of the direct current defibrillator for cardiac resuscitation. He also introduced a new use for the drug lidocaine to control heartbeat disturbances.
NW Arkansas, come for a visit, stay for a lifetime.
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