Bahira Shahim receives award for best scientific project application
The Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS) annually awards SEK 100,000 as a prize to a particularly deserving younger researcher who has applied for and been awarded SLS project grants. This year, the prize goes to Bahira Shahim, resident physician in cardiology and researcher at the Department of Medicine Solna.
Bahira Shahim receives the prize for her application: "Mapping of new mechanisms in mitral valve disease with focus on its role in cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death".
Mitral prolapse means a bulge of the left ventricular valve into the atrium. This can cause "valve leakage" leading to heart failure and may need to be treated surgically, and the condition is associated with heart rhythm disorders and sudden cardiac death. Fibrosis formation in the heart and "mitral ring gap", which involves abnormal attachment of the valve to the ventricular wall, are risk factors for rhythm disorders.
– The overall goal of the project is to map the relatively unexplored mechanisms underlying the association between mitral valve prolapse, cardiac fibrosis and heart rhythm disorders, and to study how mitral valve surgery affects the risk of rhythm disorders and fibrosis development. With cardiac MRI, we want to investigate whether the fibrosis can be reversed after surgery, and whether surgery should be done earlier than today to prevent irreversible fibrosis. The results are expected to provide new understanding of the mechanisms of mitral prolapse and its link to heart rhythm disorders, and have direct relevance for the design of a new type of individualized care for this common patient group", says Bahira Shahim.
The prize will be awarded during the Swedish Society of Medicine's Annual Ceremony on 24 October 2023. The prize winner is rewarded with SEK 100,000.
The article was published on the Swedish Medical Society's website (Svenska Läkaresällskapet) 2023-09-18. The text has been revised.