This is a year of milestones: The National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association have reached the
half-century mark. The famous Framingham Heart Study began in 1948.
And 50 years ago, Michael Ellis DeBakey, MD, came to a fledgling
medical school shakily poised in the subtropical boomtown that was
Houston, Tex. This year, Dr DeBakey celebrates not only that
anniversary, but his 90th birthday as well.
To those who know Dr DeBakey, it is no surprise that in the ensuing
years, he became the school's president, chancellor, and chancellor
emeritus. Under his leadership, a fledgling school in a precarious
financial state—Baylor College of Medicine—became a leader in
clinical medicine and began its climb toward national status in the
field of biomedical research.
Dr DeBakey's honors are almost too many to mention. The American
Medical Association gave him its distinguished service award. President
Lyndon B. Johnson awarded him the Medal of Freedom With Distinction,
the highest honor that can be accorded a civilian. He has also received
honorary doctorates from universities around the world and the highest
honors that many nations can award. In 1996, he was inducted into the
Health Care Hall of Fame.
It all began in Lake Charles, La, just after the turn of the
century. Dr DeBakey likes to remind interviewers that Lake Charles had
no more than 13 000 citizens when he was growing up. The DeBakey clan,
2 brothers and 3 sisters, a mother, and a father, cast long
shadows.
"Our
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Cardiovascular News
Milestones for Dr DeBakey