Doc’s Opinion is written and edited by Axel F. Sigurdsson MD, Ph.D., FACC.
Dr. Sigurdsson is a cardiologist at the Department of Cardiology at The Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik Iceland. He also practices cardiology at Hjartamidstodin (The Heart Center) which is a private heart clinic in the Reykjavik area. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), The Icelandic Society of Cardiology and the Swedish Society of Cardiology. He is a past president of the Icelandic Cardiac Society.
Dr. Sigurdsson is also a licensed aeromedical examiner. He has held the position of Medical Director of Icelandair since 2005.
I studied medicine at the University of Iceland between 1978-1984. Upon receiving my medical license, I went to Sweden at the beginning of 1988 for further education and training.
I spent the next eight years at the Sahlgrenska/Östra University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, specializing in internal medicine and cardiology.
In October 1993, I defended my doctoral thesis at the University of Gothenburg, termed “Neurohormonal Activation in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction or Chronic Congestive Heart Failure – With Special Reference to Treatment with Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors”
In 1995-1996 I was a clinical fellow at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria BC, Canada. The primary purpose of my fellowship was training in interventional cardiology, mainly coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI’s).
I have published more than 100 scientific abstracts, articles, and book chapters in international journals and textbooks.
Since 1996 I have worked as a clinical cardiologist at the Landspitali University Hospitalin Reykjavik Iceland as well as practicing internal medicine and cardiology at Hjartamidstodin (The Heart Center) in Kopavogur, Iceland.📷
I was born in Vestmannaeyjar, a volcanic island close to the south coast of Iceland on August 21, 1959.
Doc’s Opinion
I started writing Doc’s Opinion in the spring of 2012.
My aim is to write informative high quality articles based on medical science. Evidence based medicine is at the core of my writing.
My goal has always been to write articles that can be read and appreciated by health professionals as well as the general public. Of course, this is a difficult challenge because the gap between the medical literature and what ordinary people can read and understand may sometimes be difficult to overpass.
The main purpose of this website is to provide up to date information on preventive medicine, healthy lifestyle, and nutrition, and to provide reliable and practical information about different medical conditions. Although heart disease plays a central role, I also focus on many other areas of medicine.
A List of Some of my Published Scientific Papers
Evidence, Not Evangelism, for Dietary Recommendations
Relationship of C-reactive protein reduction to cardiovascular event reduction following treatment with canakinumab: A secondary analysis from the CANTOS randomised controlled trial
Effect of interleukin-1β inhibition with canakinumab on incident lung cancer in patients with atherosclerosis: Exploratory results from a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
The cardiovascular risk reduction benefits of a low-carbohydrate diet outweigh the potential increase in LDL-cholesterol
Outcome of myocardial revascularisation in patients fifty years old and younger.
Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibition Compared With Enalapril on the Risk of Clinical Progression in Surviving Patients With Heart Failure.
Benefits of Statins in Healthy Elderly Subjects What Is the Number Needed to Treat?
Comparison of 30-Day and 5-Year Outcomes of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Patients Aged
Prevalence of Abnormal Electrocardiographic Patterns in Icelandic Soccer Players and Relationship with Echocardiographic Findings.
Dual angiotensin receptor and neprilysin inhibition as an alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in patients with chronic systolic heart failure: rationale for and design of the Prospective comparison of ARNI with ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality
Screening for risk factors of sudden cardiac death in young athletes
Diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice multidetector CT for detection of in-stent restenosis in an unselected, consecutive patient population
A comparison of all coronary angiographies (CA) performed in 2008 in Iceland and Sweden
Angiographic in-stent restenosis is not related to the inflammatory markers hs-CRP and MPO
Diagnostic accuracy of 64-MSCT for detection of in-stent restenosis
Clinical In-Stent Restenosis is related to stent length and diameter but not to diabetes in an unselected cohort
The effect of physical training in chronic heart failure
Effects of a 5-Lipoxygenase–Activating Protein Inhibitor on Biomarkers Associated With Risk of Myocardial Infarction: A Randomized Trial
Early neurohormonal effects of trandolapril in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and a recent acute myocardial infarction: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled multicentre study
Effects of 3 analgesic regimens on the perception of pain after removal of femoral artery sheaths
Results of percutaneous coronary interventions in Iceland during 1987-1998.
In-hospital heart failure – epidemiology, prognosis and treatment
The role of neurohormonal activation in chronic HF and postmyocardial infarction
Neurohormonal activation and congestive heart failure: today’s experience with ACE inhibitors and rationale for their use
Prevention of Congestive Heart Failure by ACE Inhibition in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction
ACE inhibitors in patients with minimal or asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction
Neurohormonal activation in patients with mild or moderately severe congestive heart failure and effects of ramipril. The Ramipril Trial Study Group
Is neurohumoral activation a major determinant of the response to ACE inhibition in left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure?
Left Ventricular Remodelling, Neurohormonal Activation and Early Treatment with Enalapril (CONSENSUS II) Following Myocardial Infarction
Response of plasma neuropeptide Y and noradrenaline to dynamic exercise and ramipril treatment in patients with congestive heart failure
Effects of ramipril on the neurohormonal response to exercise in patients with mild or moderate congestive heart failure
Short- and long-term neurohormonal activation following myocardial infarction
Neurohormonal effects of early treatment with enalapril after acute myocardial infarction and the impact on left ventricular remodelling
Enalaprilat in acute myocardial infarction: Tolerability and effects on the reninangiotensin system
Anti-arrhythmia agents after myocardial infarction should be used with caution
The Etiology of Bacterial Cellulitis as Determined by Fine-Needle Aspiration
