Karvonen, Martti, MD, PhD (1918-2009)

Martti Karvonen was the Finnish principal investigator for the Seven Countries Study. In 1959, Karvonen, Osmo Turpeinen, and Paavo Roine started the Finnish Mental Hospital Study, a 12-year cross-over group trial of coronary prevention by dietary fat modification in two mental hospitals, which successfully reduced blood cholesterol levels and coronary incidence. He was also centrally involved in the 1972 launching of the North Karelia Project, a comprehensive community-based program for cardiovascular disease prevention in the high-risk eastern province of Finland.