Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center

Disputas: Tuesday 25th of November 2025 

Place: Auditoriet i Kreftsenteret (bygg 11), Ullevål sykehus, Kirkeveien 166, Oslo 

Time - Trial lecture: 10.15 -11.00: “Exercise and cardiac screening of athletes” 
 
Time - Thesis Defence: 13.15 - 16.00: “Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Young Norwegians Assessing the role of Exercise and Implications for Prevention Strategies” 

Language: English 

Commitee 

Committee chair: Professor Kristina Haugaa, University of Oslo  

1.st opponent: Professor Therese Djärv, Karolinska Institutet  

2nd opponent: Professor II Stein Ørn, University of Stavanger 

Supervisors: 

Main supervisor:  Hilde Moseby Berge, Associate Professor, University of Oslo 

Co-supervisors:  Jo Kramer-Johansen, Professor II, University of Oslo 

 
WHAT IS THE PROJECT ABOUT: 

This thesis is situated in the fields of cardiology and emergency medicine, focusing on sudden cardiac arrest among young Norwegians. The main aim is to explore how the increased knowledge of cardiac arrest in this population, obtained through Papers I-III, informs prevention strategies. Additionally, we aim to address the risk of cardiac arrest related to exercise-habits from a public health perspective. 

Data collection employed a comprehensive, multi-source approach, integrating insights from the Norwegian Cardiac Arrest Registry, questionnaires, a systematic media search, medical records, and autopsy reports. 

The data confirm that cardiac arrest among young individuals is rare. However, due to high mortality rates and reduced quality of life among survivors, it must be considered an important health problem. While cardiac arrest is often regarded as unexpected, our findings reveal that 8 out of 10 survivors reported experiencing symptoms prior to the event, and 3 out of 4 had identifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This suggests substantial potential for the detection of at-risk individuals through targeted screening. However, the high prevalence of structurally normal hearts without identifiable cardiac disease in individuals aged ≤35 years presents a challenge for risk identification. In individuals older than 35 years, a high prevalence of ischemic heart disease indicates opportunities for prevention and treatment.  

Alternative preventive strategies, including increased awareness of symptoms and enhanced availability of automatic external defibrillators, emerge as vital measures. These strategies benefit all individuals at risk of cardiac arrest, regardless of whether they have an established diagnosis of cardiovascular disease. Following the confirmation of ischemic heart disease as the dominant etiology, the public should be reassured about the substantial effects of exercise in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.