Stamler, a cardiovascular researcher who was at the forefront of studies that identified risk factors for heart disease and ways to prevent it, died on Wednesday at his home in Sag Harbor, N.Y. He died at the age of 102.
Michael Beckerman confirmed the death.
He faced down the notorious House Committee on Un-American Activities by refusing to testify when he was subpoenaed, and he also sued the committee for having no legislative purpose.
Dr. Stamler's research showed that a healthy diet, exercise, and not smoking would reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes.
He said in an interview with The Chicago Tribune that he was always interested in the heart arteries. What is the relation of fat intake, saturated fat intake, cholesterol intake, salt intake and cardiovascular disease?
After World War II, Dr. Stamler began his research in a hospital laboratory in Chicago, where he fed chickens heavy in cholesterol to learn what happened to their arteries, as well as at the Chicago Board of Health, where he started a program to prevent rheumatic fever.
Many, including myself, believe that he is largely responsible for the decline in coronary heart disease and stroke that occurred in the U.S. over the past few decades.
He was part of a generation of scientists who put the traditional risk factors for heart disease on the map. Smoking, diabetes, Obesity and cholesterol drive most heart attacks, according to the studies he did.
The ideal levels for weight, cholesterol and physical activity were looked at in one of Dr. Stamler's studies.
He wrote that a study of about 10,000 people worldwide showed that high salt intake was one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
A third study, begun about 30 years ago and still ongoing, looks at the factors that contribute to high blood pressure.
He was criticized for being an older man in his 70s, and could not complete the five years of the project.
He was born in Brooklyn and grew up in West Orange, New Jersey.
He earned his medical degree from Long Island College of Medicine in Brooklyn in 1943 after receiving a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. He began his career at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, where he worked with a top cardiology researcher.
"Why the hell do you want to go into research?" Dr. Stamler told The Tribune. When you discover something, people will say, "I don't believe it." Then you do more research and verify it, and they will say, "Yes, but."
In the late 1950s, Dr. Stamler joined both the Chicago Board of Health and Northwestern as a part-time assistant professor of medicine. He was subpoenaed to testify by the House Committee on Un-American Activities when he was director of the heart disease control program. He refused to testify or take the Fifth Amendment because he was accused of being part of a Communist Party underground. He said he was a loyal American.
He and two others filed a lawsuit because the committee had no legislative function.
Thomas Sullivan, one of his lawyers, said in a video on the website of his firm that its function was to make people take the Fifth Amendment and lose their jobs.
Dr. Stamler was indicted on a charge of contempt of Congress for walking out of a hearing and refusing to answer questions. The Board of Health suspended him. He watched his case progress to the Supreme Court.
He dropped his lawsuit after the committee dropped the charges against him.
The committee's constitutionality did not go to trial, but Dr. Stamler told The Chicago Tribune that the dismissal of his suit set a legal precedent that can be relied on by any citizen with civil liberties that are threatened.
The House disbanded the committee in 1975, Mr. Sullivan believed was caused by Dr. Stamler's case.
Dr. Stamler wrote 22 books, including "Your Heart Has Nine Lives" and "The Hypertension Handbook".
He is survived by his family, including his stepson Michael, his son Paul, Jonathan Beckerman, five step-grandchildren, and two step-great-grandchildren. His first wife, Rose Stamler, died in 1998 and his second wife, Gloria, died last year.
When Dr. Stamler was 85, we had a big party for him. People from all over the world came.
He said that when he turned 90, we had another party, and then another one when he turned 100.
In 2005, Dr. Stamler was asked about his longevity. When I was a child, my father was told by a doctor to change his diet to include more fruits and vegetables. I quit smoking in medical school when I was short of breath walking up two flights of stairs.
I exercise a minimum of an hour every day, and Dr. Stamler is a follower of the Mediterranean diet. I believe in the pleasure of eating and I love to eat.
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