Emeritus Professor in Cardiology; Supervisory Committee Chair of the Hellenic Network of Precision Medicine in Cardiology, Athens, Greece; President of the European Society of Cardiology (2012–2014)
Panos Ε. Vardas, MD, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus University of Crete, Greece, had been the Head of the Cardiology Department at Heraklion University Hospital, Crete, Greece from 1990 until his retirement June 2017. Currently, Professor Vardas holds the position of Chairman of Heart Sector of the Hygeia Hospitals Group, Athens, Greece.
In Greece, Prof. Vardas held major academic positions, such as Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Crete (2003-2007) and President of the Hellenic Cardiological Society (1999-2001).
Furthermore, he has been founder and editor of the Hellenic Journal of Cardiology (English version) since 2002 and President of the Hellenic Cardiovascular Research Society since 2007.
In Europe, Prof. Vardas was elected to significant scientific positions. He was President of the European Society of Cardiology (2012-2014) and President of the European Heart Rhythm Association (2009-2011).
Professor Vardas is the founder of the ESC Office in Brussels (2013) where he serves currently as Chief Strategy Officer of the European Heart Agency / ESC. He had been awarded the Gold Medal of the ESC in 2014 and the Silver Medal of the International League of Humanists in 2008.
Professor Vardas’ main research interests are cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. In addition, he has a broader focus on biostatistics, with an extensive publication record, as well as on health economics.
According to the Google Scholar database, Professor Vardas has received 165,492 citations, with an h-index of 122 (Google Scholar, 19/03/2026).
Τhe last few years, a significant part of Professor Vardas’ scientific work focuses on digital health, medical technology, innovation, and regulatory aspects related to medical devices.
Six years ago, since September 2020, Professor Vardas was appointed Deputy Editor of the European Heart Journal, responsible for the field of Digital Health and Innovation, and serves as a Consulting Editor for the European Society of Cardiology’s new journal, EHJ Digital Health.