| Henry Alfred Schroeder | |
| Birth Date: | June 18, 1906 |
| Birth Place: | Short Hills, New Jersey |
| Death Date: | 1975 |
| Death Place: | St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
| Occupation: | Physiologist, writer |
Henry Alfred Schroeder (June 18, 1906 - 1975) M.D., F.A.C.P was an American physiologist and writer.
Schroeder was born in Short Hills, New Jersey and graduated from Yale College in 1929.[1] [2] He obtained his medical degree from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1933.[2] During 1939-1942 he served as an assistant in medicine at Rockefeller Institute Hospital.[2]
Schroeder worked with Isaac Starr in developing the ballistocardiogram, a device used to detect abnormalities in cardiac function.[2] Schroeder served in the United States Navy and attained the rank of commander. He was a pioneer in aerospace physiology and known for his scientific contributions to the prevention and treatment of hypertension and prevention of diseases caused by imbalance of trace elements.[2]
In 1941, Schroeder was the first scientist to notice the importance of salt as compared to water in the management of congestive heart failure.[3] Schroeder's major contribution to the prevention of chronic disease was his development of the low sodium diet which is used widely today in treatment of hypertension.[2] Between 1937-1958 he published over 100 papers on hypertension in medical journals.[2] He was director of the Dartmouth Medical School Trace Elements Laboratory and became emeritus professor of physiology at Dartmouth College.[1]
Schroeder's best known work was The Poisons Around Us, first published in 1974.[4] [5] [6] The book documented the toxic effects of metals and the health impact of deficiencies of essential elements in the American diet.[7] He was a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine.[1] Schroeder died at his home in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.[1]