Cardiovascular diseases are the first cause of death worldwide. The contemporary lifestyle, a switch from Mediterranean to Western diet and the lack of daily exercise seem to significantly burden the Greek population. At the same time, there is a significant, multifactorial, genetic contribution to the predisposition to cardiovascular diseases. This becomes increasingly evident through epidemiological studies and the systematic sequencing of the genome of thousands of patients around the world.

Cardiovascular diseases also result from atherosclerosis which attacks and narrows or blocks the arteries.  Depending on the location, the results manifest as coronary artery disease (angina pectoris, infarction, heart failure), strokes, peripheral arterial disease or aneurysm of the thoracic and abdominal aorta.

In the department, we study the mechanisms of congenital heart diseases, valvular diseases, and heart failure. In parallel, the two cardiology clinics of the University Hospital participate in multicenter clinical studies.