Treating heart failure with sport: looking for the secret ingredient πŸƒπŸ»β€β™€οΈ

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About the research
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Heart failure patients have a lot of trouble with physical exertion. They can barely even walk the dog. To improve their condition, they can follow training programs in the hospital. But more than half of the patients hardly benefit from them. Cardiologist in training Isabel Witvrouwen (UAntwerpen - University Hospital Antwerp) is looking into how we can predict who will not respond to the training and why, so that we can look for a treatment that does work.

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Isabel Witvrouwen
FWO - UAntwerpen

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Isabel Witvrouwen is a cardiologist in training at the Antwerp University Hospital, and a PhD student at the University of Antwerp. In 2015, she obtained her master’s degree at the University of Antwerp, where she majored in medicine and health sciences, and graduated with the highest distinction. Her interest in cardiac rehabilitation arose from her personal fascination with the physiology and pathophysiology of the heart, combined with her love for sports. To Isabel, being able to perform research on the topic of cardiac rehabilitation is the ultimate combination of her passions: the potential of improving the health of people with cardiac problems by exercising. Her work was also appreciated by fellow researchers, as evidenced by the formal personal recognition that she has received, such asΒ the Young Investigators Award (1st prize) of the European Association of Preventive Cardiology in 2018 and the Young Investigators Award (1st prize) of the Belgian Society of Cardiology in 2021.Β 

Isabel currently lives in Ekeren with her husband and two young sons. When she is not keeping busy with her research or cardiology training, you can find her outdoors looking for adventure, surrounded by her friends and family.

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