The public defence will be held as a video conference over Zoom.
The defence will follow regular procedure as far as possible, hence it will be open to the public and the audience can ask ex auditorio questions when invited to do so.
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Due to copyright reasons, an electronic copy of the thesis must be ordered from the faculty. In order for the faculty to have time to process the order, it must be received by the faculty no later than 2 days prior to the public defence. Orders received later than 2 days before the defence will not be processed. Inquiries regarding the thesis after the public defence must be addressed to the candidate.
Digital Trial Lecture – time and place
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Professor Frank Flachskampf, Uppsala University, Sweden
- Second opponent: Professor Mai Tone Lønnebakken, Haukeland University Hospital
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Associate Professor Helge Røsjø, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Professor II Jonny Hisdal, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Senior Researcher Espen Remme, Oslo University Hospital
Summary
Elevated filling pressure is a key feature in heart failure, and estimation of this pressure is crucial to diagnose and evaluate disease progression. Estimation of filling pressure is also crucial in patients with pulmonary hypertension (elevated pulmonary artery pressure), as this condition can be caused either by pulmonary interstitial or vascular disease (pre-capillary) or by elevated filling pressure due to left-sided heart disease (post-capillary). Filling pressure can be measured invasively, but this is time-consuming, expensive and carries risk of complications. A non-invasive alternative to estimate filling pressure is therefore highly desired. We investigated echocardiography as a non-invasive alternative by performing echocardiography simultaneously to invasive measurement of filling pressure in two groups. In the first group heart failure was suspected, whereas pulmonary hypertension was suspected in the other. The studies showed that echocardiography was accurate in assessing filling pressure in both populations. We therefore believe echocardiography can be useful for diagnosing, monitoring and guiding therapy in these patients.
Left bundle branch block (LBBB), a disorder of the heart’s conduction system, causes heart failure by reducing systolic function. Diastolic function is also impaired, as relaxation is slowed. Incomplete relaxation has clinical consequences, as it leads to elevated filling pressure. At low heart rate, slowed relaxation has negligible consequences as duration of diastole is sufficient for complete relaxation to occur. In the third article, an experimental animal study, we investigated if shortening of diastole with pacing tachycardia in LBBB, would cause incomplete relaxation, and thus diastolic dysfunction and increased filling pressure. The study confirmed this theory and that pacemaker treatment improved the impaired filling. These findings propose an explanation for dyspnea during exercise in patients with LBBB.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.