Cardiovascular medicine mourns the loss of one of its most well-known and loved figures, Gordon McInnes, who died suddenly on 30th May 2023, aged 77. Gordon was a towering figure in the fields of clinical pharmacology and hypertension. An imposing presence at almost precisely two metres tall, he combined his physical attributes with a sharp and competitive intellect.
Gordon qualified in physiology and then medicine at the University of Glasgow, where he became a Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacology and ultimately Professor of Clinical Pharmacology until he retired in 2011. He was awarded an MD in 1984.
He was elected Fellow of numerous academic bodies and served as President of the British Hypertension Society from 2007–2009, President of the Scottish Society of Physicians 2008–2009, and awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Pharmacological Society, their highest award. He published widely and edited the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. He also co-authored many guidelines including those for the British Hypertension Society and the European Societies of Hypertension and Cardiology. Treatment strategies he developed have been copied worldwide and contributed to many of the most influential trials in hypertension and stroke therapy.
This list of achievements and accolades does little justice to his unique ability: Gordon was above all, a performer. He was never happier than when on stage delivering a lecture or participating in clinical debate. His delivery was legendary – forensic and terrifying at the same time.
There is no-one who met Gordon who would ever forget him. Despite his clinical and research work and time spent travelling, Gordon was at heart a family man. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and three children of whom he was immensely proud.
Adrian Brady, Alan Jardine and Tom MacDonald
Universities of Glasgow and Dundee
