Frits Prinzen

Professor

Frits Prinzen is emeritus professor of Physiology. He studied Medical Biology in Utrecht and defended his PhD in Maastricht in 1982. His research focusses on the relation between the electrical activation and mechanical contraction and pump function of the heart, with specific application to pacemaker therapies in heart failure. His work is highly translational, ranging from preclinical to clinical research and more recently also using computer simulations. Results from his work provided new insights in and opportunities for pacemaker therapies. He has participated in the CTMM-COHFAR consortium and has been and is workpackage leader in several EU-funded projects, including an International Training Network (Personalised in silico Cardiology). Several of his team members achieved personal grants (ZonMw Veni, Vidi, Clinical Fellow; Netherlands Heart Foundation junior and senior postdoc; young staff member). Besides, he ran multiple investigator-initiated studies that were funded by industry. He has been chairman of the Cardiovascular System Dynamics Society and of the Innovation Committee of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). Currently he is member of the Scientific Initiatives Committee of EHRA. He is (co-)author on 330 scientific articles, with >10,000 citations and H-index of 56.

His main research topic is regional cardiac mechanics and long-term structural and functional adaptations to various conditions, with emphasis on asynchronous electrical activation and cardiac resynchronisation. Primarily animal experimental work, but with important links to Biomedical Engineering (computer models of cardiac electrophysiology and mechanics) and Cardiology (patients with pacemakers, bundle branch block, heart failure). With this background Prof. Frits Prinzen is a world expert on pacing therapies, both for bradycardia and for heart failure (cardiac resynchronisation therapy, CRT).

Department of Physiology
Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER Maastricht
PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht
T: +31(0)43 3881080
  • 2023
    • Ellenbogen, K. A., Auricchio, A., Burri, H., Gold, M. R., Leclercq, C., Leyva, F., Linde, C., Jastrzebski, M., Prinzen, F., & Vernooy, K. (2023). The evolving state of cardiac resynchronization therapy and conduction system pacing: 25 years of research at EP Europace journal. EP Europace, 25(8), 1-16. Article euad168. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euad168
    • Beela, A. S., Manetti, C. A., Lyon, A., Prinzen, F. W., Delhaas, T., Herbots, L., & Lumens, J. (2023). Impact of Estimated Left Atrial Pressure on Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Outcome. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(15), Article 4908. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12154908
    • Munneke, A. G., Lumens, J., Arts, T., Prinzen, F. W., & Delhaas, T. (2023). Myocardial perfusion and flow reserve in the asynchronous heart: mechanistic insight from a computational model. Journal of Applied Physiology, 135(3), 489-499. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00181.2023
    • Meiburg, R., Rijks, J. H. J., Beela, A. S., Bressi, E., Grieco, D., Delhaas, T., Luermans, J. G. L. M., Prinzen, F. W., Vernooy, K., & Lumens, J. (2023). Comparison of novel ventricular pacing strategies using an electro-mechanical simulation platform. EP Europace, 25(6), 1-11. Article euad144. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euad144
    • Petras, A., Gsell, M. A. F., Augustin, C. M., Rodriguez-Padilla, J., Jung, A., Strocchi, M., Prinzen, F. W., Niederer, S. A., Plank, G., & Vigmond, E. J. (2023). Mechanoelectric effects in healthy cardiac function and under Left Bundle Branch Block pathology. Computers in Biology and Medicine, 156, Article 106696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2023.106696
    • Rijks, J., Ghossein, M. A., Wouters, P. C., Dural, M., Maass, A. H., Meine, M., Kloosterman, M., Luermans, J., Prinzen, F. W., Vernooy, K., & van Stipdonk, A. M. W. (2023). Comparison of the relation of the ESC 2021 and ESC 2013 definitions of left bundle branch block with clinical and echocardiographic outcome in cardiac resynchronization therapy. Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, 34(4), 1006-1014. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jce.15882
    • Luo, H., Westphal, P., Shahmohammadi, M., Heckman, L. I. B., Kuiper, M., Cornelussen, R. N., Delhaas, T., & Prinzen, F. W. (2023). Heart sound-derived systolic time intervals for atrioventricular delay optimization in cardiac resynchronization therapy. Heart Rhythm, 20(4), 572-579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2022.12.031
    • Kircanski, B., Boveda, S., Prinzen, F., Sorgente, A., Anic, A., Conte, G., & Burri, H. (2023). Corrigendum: Conduction system pacing in everyday clinical practice: EHRA physician survey. EP Europace, 25(3), 1199-1199. Article euad037. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euad037
    • Curila, K., Jurak, P., Prinzen, F., Jastrzebski, M., Waldauf, P., Halamek, J., Tothova, M., Znojilova, L., Smisek, R., Kach, J., Poviser, L., Linkova, H., Plesinger, F., Moskal, P., Viscor, I., Vondra, V., Leinveber, P., & Osmancik, P. (2023). Bipolar anodal septal pacing with direct LBB capture preserves physiological ventricular activation better than unipolar left bundle branch pacing. Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 10, Article 1140988. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1140988
    • Wouters, P. C., van de Leur, R. R., Vessies, M. B., van Stipdonk, A. M. W., Ghossein, M. A., Hassink, R. J., Doevendans, P. A., van der Harst, P., Maass, A. H., Prinzen, F. W., Vernooy, K., Meine, M., & van Es, R. (2023). Electrocardiogram-based deep learning improves outcome prediction following cardiac resynchronization therapy. European Heart Journal, 44(8), 680–692. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehac617