Panos E. Vardas

Panos E. Vardas is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Crete, Greece, and an influential figure in European cardiology. He served as the Head of the Cardiology Department at Heraklion University Hospital in Crete from 1990 until his retirement in June 2017. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Heart Sector of the Hygeia Hospitals Group in Athens. Nationally, he has held significant academic and organizational roles, including Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Crete (2003–2007), President of the Hellenic Cardiological Society (1999–2001), and President of the Hellenic Cardiovascular Research Society since 2007. He also founded and has edited the English version of the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology since 2002. On the European stage, Professor Vardas was elected President of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) from 2012 to 2014 and President of the European Heart Rhythm Association from 2009 to 2011. He founded the ESC Office in Brussels in 2013, where he continues to contribute as the Chief Strategy Officer of the European Heart Agency / ESC. His primary research interests historically focused on cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, alongside broader work in biostatistics and health economics. In recent years, his scientific focus has shifted toward digital health, medical technology, innovation, and medical device regulation. He serves as the Deputy Editor of the European Heart Journal for Digital Health and Innovation, and as a Consulting Editor for the EHJ Digital Health journal. He has a Google Scholar citation count exceeding 165,000 with an H-index of 122.