News archive

People with long COVID are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in eClinicalMedicine. The results show that the risk of conditions such as cardiac arrhythmias and coronary artery disease is higher even among those who were not hospitalised during the acute infection.

An increasing proportion of patients with heart failure receive a combination of four medications shown to improve prognosis and recommended in guidelines. However, there is still room for improving adherence and persistence to heart failure therapy, which appears linked to a lower risk of hospitalisation for heart failure and cardiovascular death. These findings are shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the European Heart Journal.

Factors in the blood of patients with dermatomyositis can impair muscle function by activating a specific inflammatory pathway. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The results suggest that drugs that block this signalling could counteract muscle weakness.

Digital CBT treatment reduced cardiac-related anxiety and improved patients' quality of life and physical function after a heart attack. This is shown in a new randomised study published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, in which researchers at Karolinska Institutet compared digital CBT with standard care.

On 19 March, HM The Queen presented research grants from the King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria Freemason Foundation, which supports research on ageing in the areas of neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and nursing research.

Children living with obesity but showing no signs of metabolic complications still have a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood lipid levels later in life. A new study from the Karolinska Institutet, published in JAMA Pediatrics, also shows that these children benefit greatly from obesity treatment.

People who use drugs with anticholinergic effects, including certain antidepressants, drugs for urinary incontinence and common antihistamines, are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in BMC Medicine.

Almost half of patients hospitalised for acute heart failure in Europe are readmitted within a year, according to a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the European Heart Journal. The risk of death also remains high, especially for those with more severely reduced heart function.

A large-scale multi-omics study from Karolinska Institutet, published in Genome Medicine, provides new insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying unstable atherosclerosis, one of the most important causes of ischemic stroke and myocardial infarction.

The longer a person has type 2 diabetes, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Diabetes, shows that changes in red blood cells may be an important explanation, and identifies a specific molecule as a possible biomarker.

The Karolinska Institutet (KI) and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) hosted their annual joint symposium in Stockholm on October 21–22, 2025, bringing together leading experts to strengthen high-level research collaboration.

High-intensity interval training boosts fitness and muscle endurance more effectively than traditional home exercise programmes in people recently diagnosed with inflammatory muscle disease. That is the conclusion of a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in eBioMedicine.

Patients with diabetes have an increased risk of complications after stent implantation, according to a study from Karolinska Institutet published in Diabetes Care. The study, which includes over 160,000 patients, emphasises the importance of tailoring treatment strategies for this specific patient group.

On October 21–22, Ulf Hedin, Professor of Experimental Vascular Surgery at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, visited Stanford University in San Francisco.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University reveals that sons born to mothers with type 1 diabetes may develop early vascular dysfunction – independently of metabolic health. The finding may help shape future strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease early in life.

A specific pattern of proteins in the blood may reflect an increased risk of hereditary atherosclerosis. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, examining close relatives of people who had suffered a heart attack at a young age. The study has been published in the journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.

By analyzing large amounts of data, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a system for classifying individuals into different risk groups for atherosclerosis. The results enable early detection of the disease, which can lead to personalized preventive care.

Welcome to the annual KI-CAMS joint symposia on Respiratory Medicine, Cardiovascular Research and Population Medicine.

Cardiac arrhythmias are common, can substantially impair quality of life, and may even prove fatal. Frieder Braunschweig is dedicated to improving the care for these patients, with a particular focus on remote home follow-up solutions. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 9 October.

A study shows that people with higher levels of the protein albumin in their urine are at increased risk of developing dementia. The study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, is published in the scientific journal Journal of Internal Medicine.

Firearm injuries have increased significantly in Sweden over the past decade, and with them the need for medical understanding about how best to treat these injuries. In a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, Karolina Nyberger, doctoral student at the Vascular Surgery group at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, examines the injury pattern in gun violence, with a particular focus on bleeding and vascular injuries.

Heart muscle injury during major surgery and intensive care is common. Michelle Chew studies which patients are at risk and how these injuries can be prevented and treated. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 9 October.

Every year, approximately 2,500 patients in Sweden suffer a cardiac arrest at a hospital, from which only one in every three survive. Therese Djärv wants to unpack why these events occur and how they can be prevented. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 9 October.

Untreated atrial fibrillation increases the risk of serious complications such as stroke, heart failure and dementia. Johan Engdahl is researching how doctors can be better at detecting atrial fibrillation so that patients can be treated in time. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 9 October.

Dual antiplatelet therapy after cardiac bypass surgery is no more effective than acetylsalicylic acid alone and also increases the risk of serious bleeding. This is shown in a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

Not all acute myocardial infarction patients should be offered routine screening for the stomach ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori. However, it is possible that some patient groups with an elevated risk of post-infarction gastrointestinal bleeding benefit from such a test, concludes a large-scale study from Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset published in the journal JAMA.

KI researcher Mai-Lis Hellenius has written several books with research-based advice for a healthy life that prevents cardiovascular disease and other ill-health. Her latest book has just won an important award linked to a health initiative with other KI researchers in Estonia, a country with a high mortality rate from cardiovascular disease.

Women diagnosed with premenstrual symptoms have a slightly increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Cardiovascular Research.

The Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) has appointed Bahira Shahim at the Department of Medicine, Solna, as one of this year's "Research Leaders of the Future." A total of 213 applications were received, of which 16 were selected. The researchers receive a grant of 15 million SEK each over a five-year period and will participate in an extensive leadership training program.

Air pollution is one of the most significant health threats in the world. In Sweden, air quality is improving, but in other parts of the world, the trend is going in the wrong direction. At the same time, research shows that even very low levels of pollution, below legal limits, harm our health.

Thanks to a generous donation from businesswoman and investment company director Louise Lindh, the Department of Dental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet is able to establish a new professorial chair. This marks an important step towards making dental health a self-evident and integral part of public health, a move that both researchers and healthcare professionals have long been calling for.

A new study in the European Heart Journal shows that people who develop type 1 diabetes in adulthood have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, and that those diagnosed later in life do not have a better prognosis than those diagnosed earlier. The study, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, points to smoking, poor glucose control and obesity as the main risk factors.

People with a certain heart valve abnormality are at increased risk of severe heart rhythm disorders, even after successful valve surgery. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden published in the European Heart Journal. The condition is more common in women and younger patients with valve disorder and can, in the worst case, lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

Researchers at Swedish institutions, including Karolinska Institutet, have identified gene variants that increase the risk of atherosclerosis. The goal is for these new findings to enable earlier detection of atherosclerosis and improved treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Early diagnosis of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, increases the quality of life of the patient and the efficacy of available treatments. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that material from nasal lavage provides a basis for assessing COPD. The study, which has been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, could lead to a simple diagnostic method for early assessment of COPD.

Rebecka Hultgren has been appointed as Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, MMK. The decision was signed by Dean Carl Johan Sundberg on March 7, 2025. Rebecka Hultgren will take over the assignment as head from Anders Franco-Cereceda on June 1, 2025.

Patients who have been treated for heart failure and experience an improvement of their pump function, are still at higher risk of heart-related death or hospitalisation if they stop taking heart failure medications. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the top-ranked journal Circulation.

In animal studies, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a possible mechanism for how the artificial sweetener aspartame may contribute to atherosclerosis – a common cause of cardiovascular disease and disease of the blood vessels in the brain. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Women who have experienced pregnancy complications have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the European Heart Journal shows that sisters of women with complicated pregnancies are also at higher risk, even if they had uncomplicated pregnancies. The findings suggest that genes and shared environmental factors may influence the association between pregnancy complications and cardiovascular disease risk.

A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset shows that advanced ultrasound imaging analyses cannot identify patients who would benefit from beta-blocker treatment after a myocardial infarction. The study, published in the scientific journal European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, is a follow-up to the previous REDUCE-AMI study.

For children battling both congenital heart defects (CHD) and cancer, the road to recovery is far more precarious than previously understood, according to a new study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The research reveals that these children face a higher risk of death within five years after a cancer diagnosis compared to their peers without CHD. Although their survival rates have improved over recent decades, lymphoma mortality remains disproportionately high.

We congratulate Ulf Hedin, Professor of Experimental Vascular Surgery at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, who has been elected Alexander W. Clowes Distinguished Lecturer 2025.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg have identified two types of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease – a liver-specific type and a systemic type that affects other organs and tissues. The discovery could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of this growing patient group. Two studies are published back-to-back in Nature Medicine.

Clarivate has unveiled its 2024 list of Highly Cited Researchers, recognizing individuals whose work has had significant global influence in their fields. Lars H. Lund is one of them.

The Board of Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg's foundation has decided to award Bahira Shahim and David Marlevi the foundations personal prize and a research grant, for a total of SEK 650,000 each. The prize will be awarded at the annual Installation Ceremony at the Karolinska Institutet in October 2025.

After severe heart failure, the ability of the heart to heal by forming new cells is very low. However, after receiving treatment with a supportive heart pump, the capacity of a damaged heart to repair itself with new muscle cells becomes significantly higher, even higher than in a healthy heart. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Circulation.

Hi Marko Bogdanovic, doctoral student at the Vascular Surgery research group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery.

You will defend your thesis "Strategies to predict patient-specific outcomes after endovascular aneurysm repair" on December 5, 2024 . What is the main focus of the thesis?

Business magnate and honorary doctor at Karolinska Institutet Fredrik Lundberg is donating SEK 25 million for a continued investment in cardiovascular research. This is the fifth large donation made since 2007 by Lundberg, whose engagement has enabled research that has greatly improved therapeutic and surgical methods for cardiovascular diseases.

In a new study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that genetic traits influence the cellular composition of atherosclerotic plaques, which over time will affect the risk of such lesions to cause a stroke or heart attack. The new knowledge can be used to improve the risk assessment and treatment of patients with atherosclerosis in the future.

Common cardiovascular drugs are linked to a lower risk of dementia in older age, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.