Professor Brian Prichard: Deacon, Mayor and cardiovascular pioneer

His friend and colleague Professor Raymond Macallister (UCL Division of Medicine) pays tribute to his varied and groundbreaking work in the fields of cardiovascular medicine, alcohol studies and his close involvement with the local community. Brian Prichard made one of the most important advances of the last 50 years in the treatment of heart disease while working at UCL. Brian joined UCL in 1961 having qualified in medicine at St. George's Medical School in 1957. After various posts in Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, he was appointed Consultant Physician at University College Hospital in 1973 and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology in 1980. Brian's research on cardiovascular drugs led to his discovery that propranolol, a beta-blocking drug, reduced blood pressure. This work, published in 1964, revolutionised the treatment of blood pressure. It is his enduring legacy that in the last 50 years, millions of patients have been treated with these drugs to control blood pressure and so prevent heart attacks and strokes.