Vibeke Hjortdal is congenital heart surgeon trained at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK. She became a full professor of cardiac surgery in 2004 and since 2019 she has been professor of Congenital Heart Surgery in Copenhagen, Denmark. Vibeke Hjortdal coauthors more that 400 scientific publications in peer reviewed international scientific journals. In 2025 her H index was 49 (Scopus). She has supervised over 50 phd students.
Her scientific focus is the importance of the lymphatic system in cardiovascular disease and neurodevelopment and psychiatric problem in children and young adults with CHD. She also has a special interest in the long term outcome of congenital heart diseases and especially the simple diseases and those with univentricular hearts.
From 2008 she has worked pro bono for Chain of Hope developing sustainable congenital heart surgery programs in LMIC.