Norman M. Kaplan, MD

Dr. Norman M. Kaplan is professor of the Department of Internal Medicine and head of the hypertension division at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, where he has been on the faculty for more than 30 years.

In 1950, Dr. Kaplan received his Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from the University of Texas in Austin. He earned his MD in 1954 from the UT Southwestern Medical School, and from 1954-58, he was an intern and resident at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. 

For the last 20 years, in his writings, teachings and research, Dr. Kaplan has focused primarily on the clinical aspects of hypertension. He has lectured extensively and produced more than 400 papers. The seventh edition of his textbook, Clinical Hypertension, was published in early 1998. 

Among his many professional activities, Dr. Kaplan has been a member of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth Joint National Committees on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Currently, he is master of the American College of Physicians and secretary of the American Society of Hypertension. As an American Heart Association volunteer, he has served on the Council for High Blood Pressure Research and Council on Epidemiology. Dr. Kaplan has also participated on many prestigious medical editorial boards and committees. 

It is because of these - and many other distinguished accomplishments in his storied career - the Council for High Blood Pressure Research of the American Heart Association recently honored Dr. Kaplan with the first Irvine Page-Alva Bradley Lifetime Achievement Award.