Medical Doctor, DMSc and PhD Signe Holm Larsen has defended her higher doctoral dissertation at Aarhus University. Here she investigates the results following the treatment of congenital heart disease. The research provides new knowledge that can help medical doctors optimise treatment.

2021.08.10 | Eva Kristina Hindby Koszyczarek

Medical Doctor, DMSc and PhD Signe Holm Larsen has defended her higher doctoral dissertation at Aarhus University. Photo: Ditte Capion Artvaerk

One per cent of all newborn babies have a congenital heart disease, which is the most common congenital birth defect. In her higher doctoral dissertation, Medical Doctor and PhD Signe Holm Larsen has examined how these children fare following treatment of their congenital heart disease. She has done this by correlating local databases with Danish health registers.

Signe Holm Larsen's research shows that almost all of the children who underwent an operation survive the first thirty days after the operation, and that the survival rate after ten years has risen from 80 per cent in 1976 to 93 per cent in 2015. The treatment has improved significantly over the last eighty years, and today the majority of the children are expected to survive to adulthood. However, some will experience long-term issues that require continued follow-up and new treatments. Today, the use of catheter-based techniques constitutes almost half of the interventions, while surgery is needed for the remainder.

Signe Holm Larsen's findings provide new knowledge about the treatment of congenital heart disease in Denmark. The figures can help form the basis for the structuring and optimising of the healthcare system of the future. Patients and relatives can receive more precise information about treatment methods, while the results can help medical doctors identify future focus areas for research and treatment of children and adults with congenital heart disease.

Contact

MD, DMSc & PhD Signe Holm Larsen
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Department of Cardiology
Tel.: (+45) 2179 2717

Email: signe.holm.larsen@clin.au.dk