As a child he spent many hours in the swimming pool. Bo Løfgren was a competition swimmer and had a swimming coach who was really interested in life-saving and first aid. That interest rubbed off on the young swimmer and was part of the reason why he later chose to apply to study medicine. Today Bo Løfgren carries out research into the treatment of cardiac arrest and he has now been honoured for his research contribution. On Thursday 15 May he received the Erhoff Foundation's Talent Prize 2014.

Bo Løfgren has spent many years carrying out research into resuscitation after cardiac arrest. Despite the fact that heart patients have seen considerable progress made in recent years, improvements are still needed. Today, around 3,500 Danes suffer a cardiac arrest each year outside of a hospital; of these, only approx. 350 survive. That outlook for surviving a cardiac arrest is something Bo Løfgren wants to help change. According to him, we must be better to carry out resuscitation because the resuscitation that is carried out before the ambulance arrives is actually crucial for whether you survive a cardiac arrest. 

The researcher is therefore involved in examining which educational principles are most effective when teaching resuscitation to the general public. He is also working with a group of colleagues on the use of ultrasound heart scans during resuscitation, using an animal model in the process. Other areas of research focus include treatment with oxygen and defibrillation.

Bo Løfgren remains interested in life saving and also carries out research into how to improve resuscitation of people who have suffered drowning.

As a member of a number of national and international councils, Bo Løfgren has contributed to preparing the latest international recommendations for resuscitation. Furthermore, he is a member of a group of leading experts from around the world who will review recommendations for the collection of research data on drowning.

Bo Løfgren is aged 37 and he has worked as a full-time doctor since August 2009 and is at present taking a specialist medical education in cardiovascular diseases. Bo Løfgren is supervisor for a number of pregraduate research students and PhD students. He is the author of more than 80 publications and an active researcher at the Centre for Acute Research under the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital.

The Erhoff Foundation Talent Prize is for DKK 50,00 and it was awarded on 15 May at the Carlsberg Academy in Copenhagen.

Further information

Bo Løfgren

Department of Clinical Medicine - Centre for Acute Research, Nørrebrogade 44, DK-8000 Aarhus C

Email: bo.loefgren@ki.au.dk / mobile: +45 5150 2500