John Loesch, Discoverer of Renovascular Hypertension, and Harry Goldblatt: Two Great Pioneers in Circulation Research

Abstract

In 1934, Harry Goldblatt and colleagues published an article titled "The Production of Persistent Elevation of Systolic Blood Pressure by Means of Renal Ischemia" in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. One year earlier, John Loesch had published a similar study in a German-language journal, Zentralblatt für Innere Medizin. His article appeared on 18 and 25 February 1933, in 3 parts, under the title "A Contribution to Experimental Nephritis and to Arterial Hypertension." The central proposition of both papers was the same: Renal ischemia causes persistent hypertension. Goldblatt's article is one of the best known in the history of medicine, and the words "Goldblatt kidney" are still commonly used. Although Loesch succeeded in producing persistent hypertension by inducing ischemia and in correctly interpreting this and its ramifications earlier than Goldblatt, his article has been cited only a few times. In this article, the authors share what is known about the studies of Loesch and of Goldblatt. They believe that both Loesch and Goldblatt should receive equal credit for these important first observations.