Prof. Lars Rydén

Prof. Lars Rydén is one of the most distinguished cardiologists in the history of European cardiology, having served as Professor of Cardiology at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm for more than four decades. His career has spanned the transformation of cardiology from a largely observational discipline into one driven by large randomised trials and precision pharmacotherapy, and he has been a pivotal figure in shaping that transformation through both his own research and his leadership of the European Society of Cardiology.

Prof. Rydén served as President of the European Society of Cardiology from 2001 to 2003, during which time he led initiatives to strengthen cardiovascular research and guideline development across Europe. He has been a co-author of numerous ESC clinical practice guidelines, most notably the guidelines on cardiovascular prevention and the management of diabetes mellitus in patients with cardiovascular disease — a field in which his research has been foundational.

His most celebrated scientific contribution is the DIGAMI trial (Diabetes Mellitus Insulin-Glucose Infusion in Acute Myocardial Infarction), which he led in the 1990s. DIGAMI demonstrated for the first time that intensive glucose control with insulin-glucose infusion in diabetic patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction significantly improved short- and long-term survival — a finding that fundamentally changed the acute management of MI in patients with diabetes and opened a major research field examining the cardiovascular consequences of glycaemic dysregulation.

Although now in an emeritus capacity, Prof. Rydén continues to contribute to medical education, guideline development, and the mentorship of younger cardiologists. His career is a model of how sustained scientific inquiry, combined with professional leadership, can improve outcomes for millions of patients across the globe.

Prof. Rydén completed his medical degree and doctoral training at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden's premier medical university and home of the Nobel Assembly that awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He earned his PhD through experimental and clinical research in cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia management — early work that reflected his broad engagement with the full spectrum of cardiovascular disease.

He undertook specialty training in internal medicine and cardiology within the Swedish hospital system before establishing himself at Karolinska University Hospital, where he built one of Sweden's leading cardiology research and clinical programmes. His training incorporated visits to leading cardiovascular research centres in the United States and Europe, where he was exposed to the emerging disciplines of clinical trial methodology and cardiovascular epidemiology.

Prof. Rydén was elected Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC) and subsequently served as President of the ESC (2001–2003), the highest elected position in European cardiology. He holds an honorary professorship at several European medical schools and has been awarded honorary doctorates by European universities in recognition of his lifetime scientific contributions.

Prof. Rydén's clinical expertise encompasses cardiovascular prevention, the management of coronary artery disease, and the complex interplay between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. His practice has always been characterised by a dual emphasis on evidence-based pharmacotherapy and individualised risk assessment, reflecting his belief that population-level trial data must be thoughtfully applied to each patient's unique clinical profile.

In the prevention arena, he has focused extensively on the identification and management of metabolic syndrome — including insulin resistance, dyslipidaemia, and hypertension — as modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease and heart failure. He has contributed to the development and validation of cardiovascular risk scoring tools adapted for European populations.

His procedural experience includes coronary angiography and interventional cardiology in earlier phases of his career, as well as comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment integrating ECG, exercise testing, echocardiography, and laboratory biomarker evaluation. In recent decades, his work has increasingly focused on metabolic cardiology — the intersection of endocrine and cardiovascular medicine — and he has co-chaired international task forces developing management algorithms for patients with both diabetes and established cardiovascular disease.

Prof. Rydén has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, the European Heart Journal, Circulation, and other leading journals. His bibliography spans more than four decades of sustained productivity at the highest levels of cardiovascular research.

The DIGAMI trial (1995, NEJM) stands as his most celebrated individual research contribution — demonstrating that insulin-glucose infusion in diabetic patients with acute MI reduced one-year mortality by approximately 30% compared to conventional management. The subsequent DIGAMI 2 trial, which he also led, further refined understanding of glucose-lowering strategies in the acute cardiac setting.

Additional major contributions include the BEAUTIFUL trial (ivabradine in chronic heart failure), multiple ESC guideline documents on which he served as co-chair or lead author — including the pivotal ESC/EASD guidelines on diabetes and cardiovascular disease — and landmark epidemiological studies examining the relationship between glycaemic control, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular event rates in European cohorts. His work has been cited tens of thousands of times in the scientific literature.

Prof. Rydén consults in Swedish and English, and Karolinska University Hospital is one of Europe's most internationally recognised medical centres, experienced in receiving complex referrals from across Europe and the world. The hospital has a dedicated international patient coordination office that assists with referral management, language support, and logistical planning for visiting patients.

EU/EEA patients benefit from European health insurance arrangements when accessing care at Karolinska University Hospital. Non-EU patients are seen on a private basis with full support from the international patient team. For patients seeking Prof. Rydén's specific expertise in diabetes-cardiovascular interactions or cardiovascular prevention, consultations — including telemedicine second opinions — can be arranged through the Karolinska cardiology department.

Given his particular expertise in the cardiovascular management of patients with diabetes, international referrals from endocrinologists and diabetologists seeking cardiology guidance for their complex patients are particularly welcomed.

Prof. Rydén has received the highest honours in European cardiology. He holds ESC Honorary Fellowship — the most prestigious distinction the ESC bestows — in recognition of lifetime contributions to European cardiovascular medicine. The Swedish Society of Cardiology (SSC) has awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award, and the ESC has presented him with the ESC Gold Medal, one of its most distinguished recognitions.

King Gustaf V of Sweden awarded Prof. Rydén the Order of the Polar Star, one of Sweden's oldest and most distinguished national orders, in recognition of his contributions to medicine and science. He has received honorary doctorates from multiple European universities and has delivered named lectures at institutions worldwide. His presidency of the ESC (2001–2003) and his role in modernising European cardiovascular guideline development represent a lasting institutional legacy alongside his scientific contributions.