Phaedra-impact

Habitual physical activity is beneficial for cardiovascular health. Yet, many patients with cardiovascular disease are sedentary, and current physical activity programs often fail to achieve lasting improvements. At the extreme end of the activity spectrum, more athletes engage in long-term, high-volume, high-intensity training.  Emerging evidence suggests that there may be an upper limit of exercise for heart health and exceeding this threshold may attenuate the benefits of an active lifestyle. The FIT-HEART consortium seeks to develop tailored physical activity interventions for cardiovascular disease patients and to investigate safe exercise limits for recreational and elite athletes. The research FIT-HEART has three main goals: Co-create, implement and evaluate an innovative program that promotes physical activity by integrating incentives from the individual’s (social) environment tailored to the needs of specific subgroups, which can be seamlessly integrated into healthcare systems across the Netherlands, with potential for future expansion to other patient groups and the broader population. Assess the upper limits of exercise on heart health in recreational and professional athletes by conducting prospective studies in unique cohorts. This approach integrates extensive cardiac phenotyping, wearable monitoring, novel AI technologies, digital twinning, immunophenotyping, and long-term evaluation of clinical outcomes. Establish and expand a multidisciplinary, synergistic consortium focused on sports, exercise, and heart health. Our mission is to nurture young talent, foster innovative cross-domain collaborations, and secure funding for ongoing and future research. In partnership with end-users, we will disseminate outcomes to professionals, patients, and the public, while raising awareness of the wide-ranging health benefits of an active lifestyle. The origin The FIT-HEART consortium emerged from a shared ambition among academic institutions, healthcare partners, patient organizations, and policymakers to address sedentary lifestyles in cardiovascular disease patients and to investigate the cardiac effects of extreme exercise in both elite and recreational athletes. This interdisciplinary initiative builds upon prior collaborative research in sports cardiology, preventive medicine, and behavioral interventions aimed at promoting physical activity. FIT-HEART is well-aligned with the strategic agendas of the Dutch Heart Foundation and the Dutch CardioVascular Alliance (DCVA), both of which prioritize innovative solutions to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. By integrating incentives from people’s social environment, the consortium aims to create personalized treatment options that encourage lasting physical activity, while taking into account subgroup-specific needs. In parallel, the integration of advanced cardiovascular methodologies enables FIT-HEART to identify recreational and professional athletes at an early stage who are at risk for adverse cardiovascular health outcomes.

Inherited heart diseases affect many people and can have a major impact on patients and their families. PRECISE aims to improve care by enabling earlier diagnosis, better prediction of disease risk, and more personalised treatment. The consortium brings together doctors, researchers, patient organisations and other partners to improve access to genetic care, develop practical tools for risk assessment, and strengthen education for patients, relatives and healthcare professionals. Ultimately, PRECISE aims to support better quality of life, informed choices and more effective healthcare for people with inherited heart diseases. The research  Inherited heart diseases, including cardiomyopathies and arrhythmia syndromes, affect many people and can lead to serious outcomes such as sudden cardiac death and heart failure. Although genetic testing and clinical care have improved, the cause of disease remains unclear in many patients, and access to genetic testing within families is still insufficient. PRECISE aims to address these gaps by improving early detection, risk prediction and personalised treatment for people with inherited heart diseases. The consortium will study how genetic, clinical, environmental, age-related and sex-specific factors influence disease development, severity and treatment response. Using this knowledge, PRECISE will develop and validate models to identify individuals at risk and predict disease outcomes more accurately. The consortium will focus on structural and electrical heart diseases, including hypertrophic, dilated and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy and cardiac ryanodinopathies. PRECISE will also evaluate the impact of its approach on quality of life, psychological burden, healthcare use and societal costs, while addressing communication, ethical and legal barriers to implementation in clinical care. The origin  The PRECISE consortium builds on previously established collaborations withing DCVA consortia and brings together leaders in the field of inherited heart disease with a strong past track record. The team consists of a strong mix of scientific, clinical and societal partners across the entire knowledge chain, who have contributed to the co-design of the PRECISE project. Researchers from 6 university medical centers, 3 universities, and 2 universities of applied sciences join forces with 8 co-funding organizations and a broad palette of cooperation partners and experience experts. Moreover, talented mid-career scientists are part of the team and will benefit from well-established infrastructure and broad expertise.