[1][2] Edgar Allen was a specialist in cardiovascular medicine, and particularly known for his research of peripheral vascular disease.

His name is lent to the eponymous "Allen test", a procedure used to determine blood supply to the hand.

In August 1942, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel with the United States Army's Medical Corps.

[3] He was appointed to the staff of the Mayo Clinic on June 1, 1930, and became head of a section of medicine less than 6 years later on January 1, 1936.

His early work led to clinical Studies in the use of dicumarol in postoperative venous thrombosis prophylaxis.