John K. Kjekshus
- bio
John K. Kjekshus MD, PhD is Professor of Medicine, Department of
Cardiology, Rikshospitalet, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Dr Kjekshus got his MD from the University of Oslo in 1960 and completed his internship at the Porsgrun Hospitals . He became a fellow in renal and cardiovascular physiology at the Institute for Experimental Medical Research at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo from 1962 to 1968. He was a Fogarthy Research Fellow at University of California, San Diego from 1968 to 1970.
He served as an associate Professor at the Institute for Experimental Medical Research institute from 1970 to 1972. He trained in clinical cardiology at the Ullevål and Rikshosptalet in Oslo from 1972 to 1979.
Dr Kjekshus was head of Medicine and chief of Cardiology at Bærum Hospital from 1979 to 1992. In 1992 he was appointed
Professor of Medicine and chief of Cardiology at the Rikshospitalet and currently he is the Academic head of the Department Group of Clinical Medicine, The Medical Faculty, University of Oslo.
Dr Kjekshus is recognized for his contributions to the understanding of ischemic heart disease and for being instrumental in planning, designing and conducting prospective clinical trials implementing hypothesis developed from animal research. He pioneered methods to assess infarct size, which were used to define mechanisms of benefit to the ischemic myocardium. His PhD was on "Factors influencing infarct size following coronary artery occlusion"
He demonstrated the importance of reducing myocardial energy requirement by heart rate reduction in experimental animals and as a physiological adaptation in diving seals. The results were successfully translated into clinical controlled trials with beta adrenergic blockade. He organized and chaired the first prospective clinical trial to demonstrate that ACE inhibitors improved the prognosis in patients with severe heart failure and in a more recent trial that ACE inhibitors stands the test against newer angiotensin receptor blockers. These studies demonstrated the importance of neurohormonal rather than hemodynamic adjustments.
His animal and clinical studies also established the adrenergic activation of free fatty acids as a contributor to excess energy requirement in the myocardium and potential target for therapy. He chaired the first trial to demonstrate beyond doubts the benefit of lowering cholesterol and modifying lipoproteins on overall survival in patients with coronary heart disease.
Dr Kjekshus is a co founder of the Working Group on Heart Failure in the European Society of Cardiology. He is the author of more than 250 scientific publications and has written widely on the regulation of coronary and myocardial blood flow, treatment of coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure. He has been interested in the metabolic effects of magnesium depletion and more recently has investigated the inflammatory responses during heart failure as a target for therapeutic interventions. He has also served on the board of several scientific journals. He has been visiting scientist and professor to several international Universities and presented numerous lectures abroad.
Dr Kjekshus is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, the Norwegian Cardiological Society. He is voted member to the Norwegian Academy of Sciences. He is a past president of the Norwegian Cardiological Society. He has served on several professional, scientific and governmental boards and committees.
Dr Kjekshus has twice been the recipient of His Majesty`s Gold Medal for Scientific Work, and received the Ole Storsteins Award for Scientific Achievement and the Norwegian Heart Association' Distinguished Achievement Award.
He is Honorary Member of the Norwegian Cardiological Society and of the Danish Cardiological Society.
