Current Research

Heart failure rates are increasing exponentially in Australia and worldwide. One in two people diagnosed with severe heart failure will die within one year of...

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Moving more and sitting less are critical for cardiovascular health from a young age and important for future heart health later in life. However, many...

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This project aims to identify the early signs of heart diseases and to better understand precise mechanisms using new imaging techniques.  Early...

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Brugada Syndrome (BrS) is an inherited heart disease that can cause irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and sudden cardiac death. It accounts for 20% of...

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Heart attacks remain the leading single cause of death in Australia. This is despite many advances to medications and treatments. The treatment of chest pain...

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Every year around 20,000 Australians die from atherosclerotic heart disease, or fatty plaque build-up in the heart arteries. What surprises most, is that more...

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Hypertension (aka high blood pressure) is the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It affects ~4.6 million Australians and in >90% of cases the...

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Heart failure (HF) is the commonest and most disabling form of chronic cardiovascular disease with up to half of patients having the specific problem of heart...

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These patches can perform a range of functions that are done by a ‘real’ organ, but their use is currently limited by the lack of a vascular (blood)...

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Stroke is one of the leading contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite its recognised debilitating neurological deficits, stroke is associated...

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THE PROBLEM: The way people use their time (e.g., sleep, physical activity, sitting, social interactions) impacts on their cardiovascular health. The...

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common, especially among the elderly, and carries a high associated risk of stroke. Prevalence of AF increases with age, and studies...

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Breast cancer accounts for 30% of all new cancers in Australian women each year. Oestrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) early stage breast cancer has a relatively...

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.  Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) provide a unique vantage point into fundamental...

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Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a devastating complication of many genetic heart diseases particularly when it occurs in a young person (<35 years). In...

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Blood vessel disease, or atherosclerosis, the disease that causes most heart attacks and strokes occurs years before these events. We can now quickly, easily...

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There is high demand for effective prevention and treatment strategies for cardiovascular (CV) disease. However, published evidence suggests that women and...

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Heart disease remains a leading cause of hospitalizations and deaths in Australia and globally. Therefore, heart disease prevention is a public health priority....

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Collaborative depression care is standard practice in the USA and UK for coronary heart disease (CHD) and heart failure patients, however, this model of...

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Coronary artery disease is a leading cause of mortality and morbiditiy worldwide. Invasive treatment of coronary artery disease with percutaneous coronary...

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Electronic pacemakers are the current standard of care for patients with symptomatic bradycardia. These devices require surgery for implantation, are prone to...

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With a prevalence of over 23 million worldwide, heart failure is a global epidemic. Despite the huge demand for donor hearts, there are less than 100 implanted...

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Heart failure is a worldwide epidemic, estimated to affect over 23 million people. The gold standard for end-stage heart failure patients is a heart transplant;...

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Heart attack is one of the leading causing of death and disability in Australia with over 20 Australians dying of heart attack each day. A heart attack is...

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While research has led to important advances in stroke recovery, stroke remains one of the leading causes of adult disability globally. To reduce the long-term...

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Atherosclerosis, thrombosis and their complications are leading causes of mortality and morbidity in Australia.  Dr Xiaowei Wang’s goal is to...

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The chronic cardiovascular disease atrial fibrillation (AF) – or irregular heartbeat, which can lead to stoke and heart failure – causes more deaths...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in Australia. Despite improvements over the last few decades, CVD remains one of the...

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Patients do not present complaining of ‘heart failure’. Rather, they present with symptoms of exercise intolerance, fatigue or breathlessness. A...

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Heart failure is a common endpoint for numerous cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes. Approximately 50%...

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This project aims to advance scientific knowledge about a life-altering cardiovascular problem, peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and give patients access to...

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Australians buy most of their food in supermarkets. The current supermarket environment, including the use of marketing strategies such as the placement,...

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Survivors of cancers have significantly elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Contributing factors include the direct effect of cancer,...

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Suboptimal diet is a leading risk factor for death and disability in Australia and globally. An unhealthy diet greatly increases the risk of heart attack and...

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Protective genetic variants play an important role in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, and have informed the development of drug therapies for CVD....

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Heart failure (HF) is a disease in which the pumping ability of the heart is impaired. It represents a significant burden on healthcare worldwide, affecting...

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Heart attack and secondary heart failure remain significant health burdens.  Stimulation of adenosine G protein-coupled receptors (ARs) located on heart...

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High blood pressure continues to be a major, poorly controlled but modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular death, and is linked to chronic inflammation....

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Severe aortic stenosis is stiffening of the aortic valve, which may lead to heart failure and death. It can be treated with transcatheter aortic valve...

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This research aims to implement a novel intervention using emerging technology to improve the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) related dietary risk factors of...

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Regular exercise and healthy eating are critical to help prevent people with cardiovascular disease from experiencing further heart problems. However, most...

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Stroke is a major public health concern and one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. Almost half of stroke survivors will have another stroke....

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Hypertension affects millions of Australians and is a leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Most people with hypertension have "essential...

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Insufficient physical activity is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but motivating individuals to be active for health benefits has...

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Patients with pre-existing type 2 diabetes have significantly impaired clinical outcomes following a cardiovascular event (e.g. ischemia), in comparison to...

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Acute Ischaemic Stroke (stroke) is the third most-common cause of death and a leading cause of disability. Up to 85% of strokes are caused by blood clots that...

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Heart failure (HF) reflects the inability of the heart to provide sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body and affects at least 26 million people...

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Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a significant public health issue. In Australia and New Zealand, as many as 30,000 OHCA occur every year with only 12%...

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Platelets play a crucial role in blood clot formation, causing heart attack and thrombotic disease, the No.1 killer in Australia. Platelet integrin and its...

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One of the cornerstones of modern cardiovascular intervention is the use of mechanical circulatory support. Mechanical circulatory support exists as devices...

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Strong evidence exists that the roots of heart disease begin to form in childhood. While premature birth or high blood pressure in childhood lead to a higher...

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In its severest form perinatal asphyxia causes severe oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) to the fetus/newborn before or during birth, has multiple causes and is common...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD), mainly made up of heart attacks and stroke, is the leading cause of death in Australia and globally. Most CVD events can be...

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Despite significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, emergencies of cardiac arrest and heart attack continue to be a major...

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This research project will investigate strategies to improve the identification of people at risk of heart and kidney disease. Current protocols do not...

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Inadequate physical activity and poor dietary intake are modifiable risk factors for obesity, one of the largest contributors to cardiovascular disease (CVD)...

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Depression and anxiety commonly co-occur with coronary heart disease (CHD) - both before and after a cardiac event. This relationship is particularly...

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The research proposal includes two themes of (1) improving stroke prevention and (2) improving stroke management. I will be based at the Menzies Institute for...

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Fewer than 1 in 10 children currently meet Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years that focus on physical activity, sedentariness and sleep....

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The prevalence of cardiovascular disease increases with age and is 18% in Australians 65-74 years and 31% in Australians 75+ years of age. Regular physical...

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Heart failure (HF) is characterised by progressive weakening of the heart muscle, resulting in ineffective pumping of blood to the body. This is a serious...

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Acute kidney injury is defined as a ‘sudden loss in our kidney function’. Unfortunately, acute kidney injury develops in 30% of patients following...

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Many people worldwide experience major barriers to accessing high quality care and this is a major contributor to the avoidable disease burden from vascular...

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects 1:200 of the general population. It is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in the young. However, no treatment exists...

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New treatments to protect the heart after a heart attack are urgently needed. In this proposal we will load a novel drug delivery system called...

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Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of Australians every year. Dr Nicola Smith's laboratory is interested in finding new therapeutic targets for...

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Heart failure is a global health issue with rising prevalence, affecting around 26 million people worldwide, placing significant burden on healthcare...

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Cardiovascular disease is the major killer in Australia with congenital heart disease (CHD) affecting 1 in 100 live born babies. Although paediatric surgeries...

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High-throughput three-dimensional imaging is the future of cardiovascular tissue pathology: large volume, high-throughput imaging combined with full-service...

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Hypertension is the major risk factor for many cardiovascular diseases, and its incidence is predicted to continue to grow, thus developing novel...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the largest single cause of death in Australia today. Research shows that patients with periodontal disease are almost twice as...

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In Australia, one person develops diabetes every 5 minutes. Patients with Type 2 diabetes  (T2D) are six times more likely to develop heart disease than...

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Sudden cardiac death (SCD) occurs in approximately 1000 Australians under 50 years old annually. In the United States, the societal burden imposed in years of...

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Women of reproductive age are a population group at high risk for obesity. This relates to specific hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, a...

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The narrowing of the blood vessels through disease develops over time and gradually restrict sufficient blood supply to the heart muscle which causes ischemia,...

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Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the largest single cause of death in Australia and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is responsible for much of its mortality and...

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Unhealthy diets and obesity are leading contributors to poor health in Australia. Improving population diets and addressing obesity requires a comprehensive...

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High blood pressure (BP) is the foremost risk factor for cardiovascular disease &ndash; the leading cause of death worldwide &ndash; and accounts for...

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High blood pressure is a leading contributor to the global burden of disease, and salt reduction has been identified as one of the most cost-effective...

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Coronary heart disease remains a major concern globally and within Australia despite advances in health promotion and treatment options. A major challenge...

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Obesity is one of the greatest health challenges facing today’s adolescents, who now account for the largest global population segment (>25%). In...

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This application aims to build an international program centred on the theme of primary prevention of stroke. It will utilise national and international...

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Artificial hearts replace the function of failing hearts and are used when transplantation is not possible or available. However, artificial hearts cause...

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In a healthy pregnancy, the mother’s blood vessels adapt and grow to enable sufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to the growing baby. However, in the...

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Australians, particularly young Australians, drink sugary drinks in high quantities.  These beverages (soft drinks, sports drinks and energy drinks) are...

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One in three Australian adults has high blood pressure, which is a significant risk factor of CVD. Australians consume too much salt, and this is an important...

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This fellowship proposal represents a supportive, international collaboration between the University of Birmingham, Deakin University’s Global Obesity...

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For people with heart failure, exercise rehabilitation improves quality of life, reduces admissions to hospital, and saves lives. However, its potential impact...

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As heart failure HF patients form a large proportion of hospital readmissions, reducing HF readmission rates would benefit both hospital expenditure and quality...

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Recent evidence suggests an important link between peripheral and central neuro-inflammation, sympathetic activation and blood pressure (BP) elevation. This...

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm disturbance in Australia, and it is expected to affect more and more Australians in the future due to...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability in the world and has the greatest impact on patients over 65 years old. As the heart...

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Heart failure is a leading cause of hospitalisation, with increasing prevalence and poor outcomes partly related to treatments being applied late in the disease...

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The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity globally and in Australia is an urgent public health issue, due to its negative effects on health and its...

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Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) reflects the inability of the cardiovascular system to provide sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of...

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The early detection and accurate characterization of life-threatening diseases such as cardiovascular diseases are critical to the design of treatment. A...

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Heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias) are a major contributor emergency department hospitalisations/clinic visits contributing to significant health costs. Some...

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a prevalent cardiac arrhythmia with an estimated 33.5 million patients globally in 2010, and evidence suggests that these figures...

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Australian data report that up to 1 in 5 acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients are readmitted within 30-days. It is estimated that between 2017-18, ACS...

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People with diabetes are 2-4-times more likely to develop an accelerated and aggressive form of heart disease than people without diabetes. The standard...

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There are now more than 65,000 Australians living with congenital heart disease (CHD). Those with complex CHD are at increased risk of neurodevelopmental...

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High blood pressure causes early death from stroke and heart disease; the biggest killers in Australia. Most Australian adults and children consume too much...

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Diet-related chronic diseases account for the majority of disease and death globally and overwhelm health budgets. A major focus of my research to date has been...

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Millions of people worldwide do not have access to quality health care for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and control due to health workforce...

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Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) affects 30 million people worldwide and is responsible for the loss of over 350,000 lives per year with over 100,000 of these...

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Improved cardiovascular health can make a critical contribution to reducing the difference in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians....

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Aortic aneurysms are relatively common cardiovascular disorders, but are severely understudied. They are characterised by weakening or bulging of the aorta that...

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Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition resulting in the formation of atherosclerotic lesions or plaques within the walls of arteries, which...

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Myocardial infarction (MI) is the most frequent single cause of death. It is typically caused by rupture of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries and...

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Patients with suspected angina are commonly referred by cardiologists to undergo investigations to determine the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and...

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This project aims to improve the use of Australian absolute risk guidelines for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention by increasing: 1) GPs' use of CVD...

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Children undergoing heart surgery require a cardiopulmonary bypass. This is a technique which takes over the work of heart and lungs, so that the surgeon can...

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Following a heart attack, a proportion of heart muscle is starved of oxygen and consequently dies. As the heart does not have the ability to regrow this muscle...

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Diabetes can damage blood vessels by accelerating the process of fatty plaque development known as atherosclerosis. The prevalence of atherosclerosis is...

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and the leading cause of cardiac hospitalisation in Australia. For over 100 years, it has been...

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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and the leading cause of cardiac hospitalisation in Australia. For over 100 years, it has been...

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Atherosclerosis is the harmful build-up of cholesterol plaques in arteries which leads to coronary artery disease (CAD), the single leading cause of death in...

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Atrioventricular valve regurgitation is a risk factor for poor outcomes during Fontan palliation. My recent work has shown that approximately one third of...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disease worldwide. Thus, prevention of CVD is a public health priority, and identifying those at...

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With no disease-modifying therapies for the most common forms of dementia, over 1 million Australians are expected to be living with dementia by the year 2056,...

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills one person every 12 minutes in Australia. Most of these deaths can be prevented by modifying lifestyle factors, including...

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Atherosclerosis is the build up of fatty plaques inside the body’s arteries. As the main cause of heart attack and stroke, it is the leading cause of...

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Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty plaques inside the body’s arteries. As the main cause of heart attack and stroke, it is the leading cause of...

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