Rustom Jal Vakil (17 July 1911 – 20 November 1974) was a

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

from India who was awarded a

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

for his contributions to medicine. He was the first Indian to win a

Lasker Award In 1945 Albert Lasker and Mary Woodard Lasker created the Lasker Awards. Every year since then the award has been given to the living person considered to have made the greatest contribution to medical science or who has demonstrated public ser ...

. Born in Bombay in 1911, Vakil completed his medical education in London. He pioneered the use of

reserpine Reserpine is a drug that is used for the treatment of hypertension, high blood pressure, usually in combination with a thiazide diuretic or vasodilator. Large clinical trials have shown that combined treatment with reserpine plus a thiazide diur ...

to control

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

. Reserpine is derived from Indian Snakeroot, ''Rauwolfia serpentina'', known in Bihar and

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

as Pagal-ki-dawa (‘'medicine for the insane'’) Himachal Pradesh. It was later explored as a treatment for

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Books authored

*''Clinical Diagnosis'' *''Textbook of Medicine'' *''The romance of healing and other essays'' *''Heart in Health and Disease''

Awards received

*1958 Padma Bhushan *1959 International Albert Lasker Award *1965 Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award *1969 B.C.Roy Award *1971 The V World Congress of Cardiology Souvenir Award by the Cardiological Society of India *1973 The First Dhanwantari Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakil, Rustom Jal Indian cardiologists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine Parsi people from Mumbai 1911 births 1974 deaths Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Medical Science Recipients of the Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Medical doctors from Mumbai 20th-century Indian medical doctors Parsi people Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom