Cardiovascular diseases

Researchers from various Flemish hospitals examined the relation between endurance sports and arteriosclerosis of the heart. The results confirm the health benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle, but also show that intensive endurance sport does not provide additional protection.

Every year the leading European Heart Journal selects the top 10 of best scienctific publications in cardiology of the past year. This year the top 10 includes two papers that UZ Leuven doctors collaborated on: prof. dr. Lucas Van Aelst and prof. dr. Christophe Vandenbriele.

For the first time in Belgium, a team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons have replaced a mitral heart valve by a prosthetic valve in a minimally invasive way. Until recently this was only possible with cardiac surgery and the use of a heart-lung machine for which not all patients qualify.