GRANTS. Eleven Gothenburg-based research projects have been awarded a total of SEK 18 million in funding from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.
In contrast to the rest of the population, strokes are on the increase among people aged 65 or over in Sweden. Christina Jern, Professor of Neurology with a focus on vascular illnesses and vascular genetics, is one of the researchers being awarded funding for her research from the Foundation. She is to receive SEK 3.6 million for her project, which will investigate the causes of strokes in people under the age of 65, and look at their quality of life afterwards.
“The grant from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation will give us the financial means to research and make the kinds of advances that will save lives,” says Christina Jern.
Around 28,000 Swedish people suffer strokes every year; half of these will either die or experience severe disability as a result. The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation is aiming to halve this figure i.e. reduce the number who die or experience severe disability after having a stroke by 50%.
Following a fundraising initiative in 2016, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation is now in a position to fund around 250 research projects, which together will share a record sum of SEK 305 million – 18 million of which has been awarded to the eleven Gothenburg-based research projects. The funding is usually awarded over a three-year period.
“Thanks to our donors, we are in a position to fund ground-breaking research projects that will soon be available to the healthcare system, making it possible to help people who have been affected by conditions in their heart, blood vessels and lungs. The research we are investing in is going to help ensure that fewer people die and fall ill, and extend the lives of those that do fall ill,” says Kristina Sparreljung, general secretary of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.
