After obtaining my medical degree in October 2018, I started my PhD project under the supervision of Professor Rudolf de Boer and Professor Michiel Rienstra. My research focuses on early detection and early treatment of cardiovascular disease, notably heart failure and atrial fibrillation. My main project is the RED-CVD study, a collaboration with the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care in Utrecht. Furthermore, I have been involved as a sub-investigator in several clinical heart failure studies, including DAPA-HF, DELIVER, MONITOR-HF, and CARDIATEAM. In my research, I frequently use data from large cohort studies such as PREVEND and Lifelines.
Too often, cardiovascular disease remains unrecognized. RED-CVD aims to improve early detection of cardiovascular disease. In the RED-CVD trial, we are testing a new ‘’early diagnosis strategy’’ in general practices across the Netherlands. This strategy includes a patient questionnaire about symptoms of cardiovascular disease, which we developed using Lifelines data.