Mattias Brunström

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in Sweden and worldwide. High blood pressure is the single most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is estimated to cause approximately 10 million deaths annually. Although the risks associated with high blood pressure have been known for many years, and there are effective, safe and inexpensive treatments, only a quarter of people with high blood pressure manage to get it under control.

Our group investigates how blood pressure levels in youth affect the risk of suffering from high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease later in life. We are also trying to understand how these connections are related to obesity, physical fitness and diabetes. The goal of these studies is to be able to better predict who is at risk of contracting disease in order to be able to direct preventive measures and treatment to those with the greatest presumed benefit.

Today, there is a plethora of blood pressure-lowering drugs from several different drug classes. These act on different physiological systems and differ in pharmacological properties. We conduct studies that investigate whether existing drug classes have different effects on different types of cardiovascular disease. Our hope is that the results from these studies, together with the individual patient's characteristics and other diseases, will be able to guide who will benefit most from which medicine.

A particularly serious form of cardiovascular disease is aortic dissection or rupture. A large percentage of those who suffer from this condition die before they get to hospital. Often dissections and ruptures are preceded by a widening of the aorta and these patients may be offered preventive surgery. Our group investigates possible risk factors for aortic dissection and rupture, as well as the prognosis after surgery, in order to be able to reduce risk and better determine who will benefit most from preventive treatment.