Professor Panos E. Vardas, MD, PhD is Head of the Cardiology Department at Heraklion University Hospital, Crete, Greece. His career started at the University of Athens, where he obtained his Medical Degree and his MD Thesis. During the same period, he specialized in Internal Medicine and Cardiology in the clinics of the same University.
In 1985 he started working at the Westminster Hospital in London, Cardiology Department (director: Prof. Richard Sutton), where he stayed until 1989, focusing on Clinical Electrophysiology and Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices. In 1993 he obtained his PhD in Clinical Electrophysiology from the Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School.
In Greece, Prof. Vardas has held major academic positions, such as:
– President of the Hellenic Cardiovascular Society (2007- )
– Dean of the Medical Faculty School at the University of Crete (2003-2007)
– Editor of the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology (2002- )
– President of the Hellenic Cardiological Society (1999-2001)
In Europe, Prof. Vardas has been elected to significant scientific positions, the most important of which are:
– President of the European Society of Cardiology (2012- )
– President of the European Heart Rhythm Association (2009-2011)
– Chairman of the Review Committee for the 2010 and 2012 Guidelines on Atrial Fibrillation
– Chairman of the European Working Group of Pacing and Electrophysiology (2002-2003)
Prof. Vardas has participated as an author in 408 publications included in the MedLine as well as in a considerable number of chapters of well-known medical books, the Text Book of the ESC being one of them. He has been a fervent contributor to the activities of the European Society of Cardiology for twenty years.
Apart from the wide range of Cardiovascular Medicine, Prof. Vardas’ main interests today lie in Health Economics, Health Technology Assessment and Business Administration.