Aortic aneurysm involves a risk of the large body artery rupturing, which is directly life-threatening. Hanna Björck, docent at Karolinska Institutet, has now been awarded Prince Daniel’s grant for promising young researchers of SEK 6 million to develop future individual treatments.
Aortic aneurysm involves a pathological dilation of the large body artery closest to the heart. The dilation is due to the breakdown of connective tissue in the vessel wall and can lead to the vessel rupture, which is directly life-threatening.
It is not known what causes the disease, and today there are no medical treatments to stop or reverse the breakdown of the aortic wall.
Hanna Björck, docent at the Department of Medicine , Solna, KI, has been awarded Prince Daniel’s 2024 grant for promising young researchers of SEK 6 million for her research into aortic aneurysms located near the heart.
Gifts from the Swedish people
The goal is to map the origin and development of the disease, writes the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation in a press release.
“The overall goal of our study is to explore aneurysms that occur closest to the heart and disease of the heart valves. The research is possible thanks to donations from the Swedish people to the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation,” says Hanna Björck .
Mapping the mechanisms underlying the onset and development of aortic aneurysms is crucial for developing future patient-specific treatments.
But also to choose the right type of surgical procedure at the right time and tailor follow-up programs for patients at high risk of life-threatening complications.
About Prince Daniel’s grant for promising young researchers
The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation wants to promote the regrowth of young researchers by announcing a grant for particularly promising young researchers.
The research grant is awarded to pioneering Swedish heart or lung research and aims to create the conditions for decisive breakthroughs in an important research area of great importance to patients.
The grant is awarded annually by the Heart-Lung Foundation’s honorary chairman HRH Prince Daniel and consists of SEK 6 million that will be distributed over three years.
Source: The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
