Cardiovascular Health & Prevention
We advance early detection and personalized management of cardiovascular disease through digital health, imaging, and population-based research. Our work aims to reduce risk and improve long-term outcomes for individuals and communities.
LCRC PIs
LCRC PIs
Postdocs
Postdocs
PhD Candidates
PhD Candidates
- Pioneering the discovery of novel prognostic digital biomarkers in PPG, and other smartphone derived signals using AI to improve the identification and prognostic detection capabilities of atrial fibrillation.
- Unravelling the relation between endurance exercise and atrial fibrillation by examining atrial remodelling, autonomic tone, inflammation and genetic predisposition
- Personalizing Atrial Fibrillation Management with Digital Health Devices and Artificial Intelligence.
- Physical inactivity and obstructive sleep apnea: two undermanaged risk factors in patients with cardiovascular conditions
- Continuous Rhythm Monitoring in Sports Cardiology
- Mitral Valve Disease in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: Insights from Personalized In-Silico Heart Modeling and Clinical Validation.
- Optimizing Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction after Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.
- Navigating Personalized Precision Medicine: Integrating Artificial Intelligence in electrophysiology: Determining optimal treatment paths in atrial fibrillation ablation
- Data-driven Models for Human Cardio-respiratory Event Monitoring
- Enhancing cardiovascular care through digital supportive tools with a focus on implementation
- Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Early Replacement In Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis Compared to Known Watchful Waiting
- Investigating Atherosclerosis in Highly Trained Endurance Athletes
- Advanced cardiovascular imaging techniques and artificial intelligence in sports cardiology and coronary disease
Théo Perez-Ferron
- Unravel the complexity of valve disease in heart failure using Digital Twin technology. Help transform how cardiologists decide when and how to treat patients through personalized computer simulations.
- Heart failure and the kidney: restoring homeostasis
- Evolution of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in AF ablation
Research projects in the spotlight
Digital Cardiovascular Monitoring & AI
This research line focuses on the development of digital approaches for early detection, personalised management and follow-up of cardiovascular diseases. By combining physiological data, digital health technologies and artificial intelligence, LCRC aims to support more precise diagnosis, treatment and monitoring beyond the clinical setting.
Why it matters
Many cardiovascular conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, remain undiagnosed or are detected too late, limiting opportunities for timely intervention. In addition, optimising treatment and follow-up remains challenging due to the dynamic and patient-specific nature of these conditions.
Digital health solutions enable continuous monitoring and data-driven decision-making, thereby contributing to earlier detection, more personalised treatment strategies and improved long-term management.
Ongoing PhD projects
AI-driven detection of atrial fibrillation
Myrte Barthels (CIVIC PhD – UHasselt/ZOL & Qompium)
This PhD focuses on identifying novel digital biomarkers from ECG and photoplethysmography (PPG) data using artificial intelligence. The project aims to improve early and prognostic detection of atrial fibrillation in real-world, at-risk populations, including individuals with asymptomatic or intermittent disease, supporting scalable and patient-centred cardiovascular screening.
Promotor: prof. dr. Pieter Vandervoort (UHasselt)
Co-promotor: dr. Lars Grieten (Qompium)
Personalizing Atrial Fibrillation Management with Digital Health
Michiel De Wever (Joint LCRC PhD – UHasselt/ZOL & KU Leuven)
This PhD focuses on improving atrial fibrillation management using digital health technologies and artificial intelligence. The project integrates an AI-enabled ECG algorithm to predict treatment outcomes and guide ablation strategies, while exploring digital follow-up through wearable devices for earlier detection and personalised care.
Promotor: prof. dr. Laurent Pison (UHasselt), prof. dr. Peter Haemers (KU Leuven)
Co-promotor: prof. dr. Bert Vandenberk (KU Leuven)
Pro@Heart – understanding the long-term impact of endurance sports on the heart
Pro@Heart is the world’s largest long-term prospective study on the athlete’s heart. Launched in 2015, this international multicentre project follows elite endurance athletes to understand how prolonged intensive exercise affects cardiovascular structure, function, and long-term health.
Led by Guido Claessen, with Rik Willems as co–principal investigator, Pro@Heart brings together leading expertise in sports cardiology, advanced cardiac imaging, genetics, exercise physiology and digital health.
Involved LCRC PIs: prof. dr. Guido Claessen, prof. dr. Olivier Ghekiere, prof. dr. Paul Dendale
Why it matters
With more than 600 athletes enrolled and up to 10 years of follow-up, Pro@Heart provides unique insights into:
- physiological versus maladaptive cardiac remodelling
- early markers of cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias
- the cardiovascular effects of long-term endurance training
Key findings include the observation that 1 in 6 elite endurance athletes shows reduced cardiac function at rest, with overlap with dilated cardiomyopathy.
Ongoing PhD projects
From spot checks to longitudinal monitoring: emerging frontiers in Sports Cardiology
Boris Delpire (Joint LCRC PhD – UHasselt/Jessa & KU Leuven)
This PhD investigates the transition from single time-point evaluations to longitudinal risk stratification in athletes. By integrating advanced cardiac imaging with prolonged rhythm monitoring, it aims to improve arrhythmia detection, delineate the boundary between physiological adaptation and pathology, and optimize cardiovascular management in elite athletes.
Promotor: prof. dr. Guido Claessen (UHasselt), prof. dr. Rik Willems (KU Leuven)
Co-promotor: dr. Aaron Baggish (Université Lausanne), prof. dr. Bert Vandenberk (KU Leuven)
Coronary artery disease in endurance athletes
Rik Pauwels (Joint LCRC PhD – UHasselt/Jessa & KU Leuven)
This PhD examines the impact of long-term endurance exercise on the development of coronary artery disease. While endurance sports are generally associated with cardiovascular benefits, emerging evidence suggests a higher prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis in older athletes. This project aims to uncover underlying mechanisms, assess clinical implications, and improve cardiovascular risk stratification in this population.
Promotor: prof. dr. Guido Claessen (UHasselt), prof. dr. Peter Sinnaeve (KU Leuven)
Co-promotor: prof. dr. Virginie Bito (UHasselt), prof. dr. Tatiana Kouznetsova (KU Leuven)
Myocardial scarring and ventricular arrhythmias in endurance athletes
Jarne De Paepe (Joint LCRC PhD – UHasselt/Jessa & KU Leuven)
This PhD investigates the presence and clinical relevance of myocardial scarring in endurance athletes and its relationship with ventricular arrhythmias. Using advanced cardiac imaging and long-term follow-up, the research aims to clarify whether these findings represent benign adaptation or markers of increased cardiovascular risk.
Promotor: prof. dr. Guido Claessen (UHasselt), prof. dr. Thomas Robyns (KU Leuven)
Co-promotor: prof. dr. Rik Willems (KU Leuven)
Support
This project is supported by the Cardiology fund Heart Centre Hasselt from UHasselt, which funds innovative cardiovascular research aimed at improving prevention, diagnosis, and long-term outcomes for patients with heart disease.
Cardiology fund - Heart Centre Hasselt