Vanessa van Empel

Associate professor

Dr Vanessa van Empel studied Medicine at the University of Maastricht. During her studies, she started her PhD on the topic heart failure. She obtained her PhD from the University of Utrecht in 2007. Subsequently she started her training as a cardiologist at the Maastricht University Medical Centre. After finishing her cardiology training in 2011, Vanessa was rewarded the ICIN fellowship, which enabled her to do a post-doctoral fellowship at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where she gained more expertise in the field of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). She now is a staff member at the Maastricht UMC+ with an expertise in heart failure, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction specifically.

Her clinical work and research has been dedicated to HFpEF. She initiated the HFpEF clinic in Maastricht, which started in 2015, and is responsible for the Maastricht HFpEF cohort. She obtained a grant 'Vrouwelijk Hartfalen' from the Health Foundation Limburg together with Prof. Blanche Schroen, is co-PI on the CVON project Early detection of HFpEF and is project leader of the CVON SHE-PREDICT-HF, which studies sex differences in HFpEF. These projects allow her to continue her research on HFpEF with special focus on cardiovascular imaging, biomarkers and microvascular dysfunction.

Department of Cardiology
P. Debeyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht
PO Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht
Room number: Maastricht UMC+ level 3
T: +31(0)43 387 70 95

2023
- Weerts, J., Amin, H., Barandiarán Aizpurua, A., Gevaert, A. B., Handoko, M. L., Dauw, J., Tun, H. N., Rommel, K-P., Verbrugge, F. H., Kresoja, K-P., Sanders-van Wijk, S., Brunner-La Rocca, H-P., Bayés-Genís, A., Lumens, J., Knackstedt, C., & van Empel, V. P. M. (2023). Webtool to enhance the accuracy of diagnostic algorithms for HFpEF: a prospective cross-over study. Esc heart failure. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/ehf2.14525
- Raafs, A. G., Adriaans, B. P., Henkens, M. T. H. M., Verdonschot, J. A. J., Abdul Hamid, M. A., Díez, J., Knackstedt, C., van Empel, V. P. M., Brunner-La Rocca, H. P., González, A., Wildberger, J. E., Heymans, S. R. B., & Hazebroek, M. R. (2023). Biomarkers of Collagen Metabolism Are Associated with Left Ventricular Function and Prognosis in Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Multi-Modal Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(17), Article 5695. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12175695
- Canto, E. D., van Deursen, L., Hoek, A. G., Elders, P. J. M., den Ruijter, H. M., van der Velden, J., van Empel, V., Serné, E. H., Eringa, E. C., & Beulens, J. W. J. (2023). Microvascular endothelial dysfunction in skin is associated with higher risk of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in women with type 2 diabetes: the Hoorn Diabetes Care System Cohort. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 22(1), Article 234. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-023-01935-z
- Kerstens, T. P., Weerts, J., van Dijk, A. P. J., Weijers, G., Knackstedt, C., Eijsvogels, T. M. H., Oxborough, D., van Empel, V. P. M., & Thijssen, D. H. J. (2023). Association of left ventricular strain-volume loop characteristics with adverse events in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging, 1-9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jead117
- Gorter, T. M., van Veldhuisen, D. J., Mulder, B. A., Arita, V. A. A. A., van Empel, V. P. M., Manintveld, O. C., Tieleman, R. G., Maass, A. H., Vernooy, K., van Gelder, I. C., & Rienstra, M. (2023). Prevalence and Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation in Heart Failure with Mildly Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction: (Additive) Value of Implantable Loop Recorders. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(11), Article 3682. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12113682
- Kerstens, T. P., Weerts, J., van Dijk, A. P. J., Weijers, G., Knackstedt, C., Eijsvogels, T. M. H., Oxborough, D., van Empel, V. P. M., & Thijssen, D. H. J. (2023). Left ventricular strain-volume loops and diastolic dysfunction in suspected heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. International Journal of Cardiology, 378, 144-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcard.2023.01.084
- Knackstedt, C., Schummers, G., Schroder, J., Marx, N., Lumens, J., Sanders-van Wijk, S., Ramaekers, B., Becker, M., van Empel, V., Brunner-La Rocca, H. P., & PsychEcho study group (2023). A graphical analysis of aspects contributing to the spreading of measurements of left ventricular function. International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, 39(5), 915-927. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10554-023-02796-z
- Luo, H., Weerts, J., Bekkers, A., Achten, A., Lievens, S., Smeets, K., van Empel, V., Delhaas, T., & Prinzen, F. W. (2023). Association between phonocardiography and echocardiography in heart failure patients with preserved ejection fraction. European Heart Journal - Digital Health, 4(1), 4-11. https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjdh/ztac073
2022
- Remmelzwaal, S., van Oort, S., Handoko, M. L., van Empel, V., Heymans, S. R. B., & Beulens, J. W. J. (2022). Inflammation and heart failure: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine, 23(11), 728-735. https://doi.org/10.2459/JCM.0000000000001373
- Raafs, A. G., Adriaans, B. P., Henkens, M. T. H. M., Verdonschot, J. A. J., Ramaekers, M. J. F. G., Gommers, S., Hamid, M. A. A., Schalla, S., Knackstedt, C., van Empel, V. P. M., Hans-Peter, B., Wildberger, J. E., Bekkers, S. C. A. M., & Hazebroek, M. R. (2022). Myocardial Fibrosis Assessment Using T1 and ECV Mapping With Histologic Validation in Chronic Dilated Cardiomyopathy. JACC-Cardiovascular Imaging, 15(10), 1828-1830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2022.05.002

Overview

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Marja van Dieijen Prize PreCIS

24 November 2023

€22 million for international research into cardiovascular disease

27 October 2023

Vanessa van Empel

Associate professor