Cardiologist Saloua El Messaoudi has been appointed Professor of Cardiovascular Inflammation and Prevention at Radboud university medical center and Radboud University. She is an expert in cardiovascular imaging, and her research focuses on the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease.By using innovative imaging techniques, she aims to detect early signs of disease and gain a better understanding of how cardiovascular disease develops.
How can cardiovascular disease be prevented before permanent damage develops? And how can we reduce the risk of another heart attack in someone who has already had one? These questions lie at the heart of El Messaoudi's chair. Her research focuses on the causes and progression of inflammation in the vessel wall and heart valves, and on the implications of this knowledge for prevention and treatment.
'As a cardiologist, I often see patients only after damage has already occurred, for example following a heart attack,’ says El Messaoudi. ‘If we can identify earlier who is at high risk of an infarction, we have an opportunity to intervene before it happens.’
Even after a myocardial infarction, a substantial proportion of patients remain at increased risk of another event despite optimal management of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Inflammation is thought to play a major role in this so-called residual risk. ‘Prevention does not end with the first diagnosis,’ she explains. ‘There is still much to gain afterwards.’
Inflammation as a driving force
Coronary artery calcification and progressive aortic valve stenosis are distinct conditions, yet both are driven by similar underlying biological mechanisms. Low-grade inflammation contributes to the development and progression of these diseases. Treating inflammation therefore targets not only the consequences of disease, but also the underlying pathological process itself.
Traditional risk factors do not fully explain why some individuals develop cardiovascular disease while others do not. For example, people with elevated levels of both lipoprotein(a) and inflammatory markers more frequently develop coronary artery disease than those with elevated lipoprotein(a) alone. ‘A great deal of international research is currently focused on therapies that lower lipoprotein(a),’ says El Messaoudi. ‘Our work suggests that cardiovascular risk is not determined by cholesterol levels alone. The degree of inflammation also appears to be an important factor.’
She continues: ‘With a better understanding of the interplay between lipoprotein(a), inflammation and vascular disease, we can more accurately identify which patients will benefit most from lipoprotein(a)-lowering therapies, anti-inflammatory treatment, or a combination of both.’ This approach moves prevention away from a one-size-fits-all strategy towards truly personalized treatment tailored to the individual patient.
Imaging technology reveals disease earlier
El Messaoudi specializes in cardiovascular imaging. Effective treatment begins with a thorough understanding of disease activity. As an imaging cardiologist, she has expertise in MRI, CT, echocardiography and nuclear imaging. The field is evolving rapidly. Whereas imaging traditionally focused on detecting structural damage that had already occurred, advanced and molecular imaging techniques can now visualize biological processes that precede disease progression and are actively taking place.
Using PET and CT imaging, El Messaoudi studies the activity of cells involved in calcification and fibrosis in cardiac, vascular and valvular tissue, even before abnormalities become visible with conventional imaging techniques. This provides greater insight into disease mechanisms, enables earlier diagnosis and supports more targeted treatment. ‘The sooner we understand what is happening, the better we can tailor treatment to the individual patient,’ she says.
Risk profiling and personalized treatment
By visualizing biological activity in the heart, blood vessels and heart valves, El Messaoudi is able to obtain a more precise understanding of patients' risk profiles and the treatments most likely to benefit them. At the same time, this approach helps identify opportunities for new therapies and assess whether they genuinely slow disease progression.
Her research into CHIP – age-related genetic changes in blood stem cells that are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease – show how such biological biomarkers may help refine risk stratification. She and colleagues from Harvard found that anti-inflammatory treatment with colchicine was associated with slower growth of certain CHIP-related cell clones, suggesting that CHIP may also help identify patients who could benefit from more targeted treatment.She also leads a study investigating whether the anti-inflammatory drug colchicine can slow the progression of aortic valve stenosis. The results of this study are expected in 2027.
For her research, El Messaoudi works closely with cardiologists, internists, radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and cell biologists. ‘Multidisciplinary and international collaboration is one of the great strengths of Radboudumc,’ she says. ‘It generates knowledge that we can translate directly into better care for patients.’
As Medical Director of the Clinical Trial Unit Cardiology, she is also involved in large international clinical treatment studies. ‘This gives our patients access to innovative therapies and helps us bring new scientific insights into clinical practice more quickly.’
Career
Saloua El Messaoudi studied Medicine at Radboud University and trained as a cardiologist, specializing in cardiovascular imaging. In 2016, she obtained her PhD at Radboudumc with a thesis entitled Targeting the Adenosine System to Limit Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury, which focused on reducing cardiovascular damage caused by oxygen deprivation and subsequent reperfusion. In 2017, she joined the cardiology staff of Radboudumc. Since 2024, she has led the Clinical Trial Unit Cardiology and has held various positions within the Dutch Society of Cardiology (NVVC), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI). She is also coordinator of the research program Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis, which was designated a Radboudumc Top Research Program this year. Her appointment as Professor-Leader in Academic Healthcare will take effect on 1 September 2026.
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