Specialization
I am an interventional cardiologist with focus on women and CV disease especially non-obstructive coronary artery disease. As such I perform invasive measurement in order to understand pathophysiology of coronary vasospasm and CMD; I have a large out-patient clinic for second and third opinions for women (and men) with symptoms related to non-obstructive coronary artery disease. I work with an national and international network and in the Nethelands I play a key role in creating awareness for this topic in the media and in research.
Focus of research
My research interests revolve around cardiovascular disease in women with special focus on sex and gender differencesnon. Also I try to understand the symptoms related to non-obstructive coronary artery disease including invasive coronary measurements and coronary physiology. What are the underlying causes such as: coronary vasospasm and microvascular dysfunction. My goal is to diagnosis and treat women with these problems and to look for non-invasive techniques in order to endotype patients and particularly women with symptoms and INOCA. Also other pathophysiologic mechanisms such as SCAD, Takotsubo and HFpEF are typical CV diseases with a much higher prevalence in women, to understand these mechanisms and help women is of upmost importance in order to create health equity for women