Zaheer Yousef
Zaheer Yousef | |
|---|---|
| Born | Zaheer Raza Yousef Bukoba, Tanzania |
| Alma mater | Guy’s Hospital, University of London |
| Known for | Heart failure treatment; cardiac resynchronisation therapy; cardiovascular device research |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology Officer of the Order of the British Empire |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cardiology; heart failure |
| Institutions | University Hospital of Wales; Cardiff University |
Zaheer Raza Yousef OBE, MD, FRCP is a British cardiologist and academic known for his contributions to the treatment of heart failure, cardiac resynchronisation therapy, cardiac device research, and humanitarian work. He is Consultant Cardiologist and Lead Clinician for Heart Muscle Diseases and Heart Failure Devices at the University Hospital of Wales and Honorary Professor at Cardiff University.
Education
Yousef earned a Bachelor of Science degree (immunology) with first-class honours in 1988 and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree in 1992 from Guy’s Hospital (University of London).[1] He completed a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2003 at St Thomas’ Hospital (University of London), focusing on post-infarction ventricular remodelling.
Career
Yousef was appointed Consultant Cardiologist at the University Hospital of Wales in 2005, where he leads services in heart failure, heart muscle disease, and cardiac resynchronisation.[2][3] He is Honorary Professor at Cardiff University and serves as Clinical Lead for Cardiovascular Research in Wales.[4]
He has held leadership roles with the Welsh Cardiovascular Society[5] and Heart Research Wales.[6]
Academic and research work
Yousef's academic interests focus on the pathophysiology of heart muscle diseases and the mechanisms of therapeutic interventions.[7][8] His work includes clinical and imaging-based research on cardiac resynchronisation, chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.[9] His studies use echocardiography,[10] cardiac MRI, and haemodynamic assessment to investigate novel treatment pathways.[11]
Charitable work
Yousef is a founding member of the Africa-HF course, which offers bespoke post-graduate training in heart failure to African healthcare professionals. He also runs regular pacemaker training workshops throughout sub-Saharan Africa, promoting the use of refurbished pacemakers to improve affordable access to device therapy in low- and middle-income countries.[12][13]
Selected publications
- Yousef ZR et al. “Late intervention after anterior myocardial infarction: effects on left ventricular size, function, and quality of life.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2002.
- Mullens W, Auricchio A, Yousef Z et al. “Optimized implementation of cardiac resynchronization therapy.” Europace, 2021.
- Bonny A, Chin A, Yousef Z et al. “Cardiac pacing in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Cardiovascular Journal of Africa, 2019.
- Yousef Z et al. “Left ventricular hypertrophy in Fabry disease: a practical approach to diagnosis.” European Heart Journal, 2013.
- Malhotra A, Dhutia H, Yousef Z et al. “Outcomes of Cardiac Screening in Adolescent Soccer Players.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
- Wunderly K, Yousef Z et al. “Using reconditioned pacemakers to treat bradycardia in Africa.” Nature Reviews Cardiology, 2018.
- Russell SJ, Tan C, O’Keefe P, Ashraf S, Zaidi A, Fraser AG, Yousef ZR. “Optimised temporary biventricular pacing improves haemodynamic function after on-pump cardiac surgery in patients with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction.” European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 2012.
Awards and honours
- 2025 – Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2025 New Year Honours for services to the treatment of heart failure[14]
- 2009 – Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians[15][16]
- 2006 – European Society of Cardiology (Fellow)
References
- ^ London, King's College. "Dina Asher-Smith among King's alumni named in New Year Honours". King's College London.
- ^ "Cardiff and Vale UHB colleagues recognised in the New Year's Honours List". Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
- ^ "The Consultant Cardiologist honoured for services to heart failure". Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
- ^ "Wales Heart Research Institute (WHRI)". Cardiff University.
- ^ "Welsh Cardiovascular Society". NHS Wales Performance and Improvement. 9 April 2024.
- ^ "ABOUT US". Heart Research Wales.
- ^ "New pacemaker returns Gaynor Wright to 'normal' life". BBC News. 13 October 2013.
- ^ "Cardiac screening programme an important element of player care at Swansea City". Swansea City.
- ^ "Eligibility of patients for sacubitril/valsartan in a secondary care heart failure service". British Journal of Cardiology. 2016. doi:10.5837/bjc.2016.033.
- ^ Thomas, Dewi E.; Wheeler, Richard; Yousef, Zaheer R.; Masani, Navroz D. (December 2009). "The role of echocardiography in guiding management in dilated cardiomyopathy". European Journal of Echocardiography: The Journal of the Working Group on Echocardiography of the European Society of Cardiology. 10 (8): iii15–21. doi:10.1093/ejechocard/jep158. ISSN 1532-2114.
- ^ Evans, Marc; Morgan, Angharad R.; Yousef, Zaheer; Ellis, Gethin; Dashora, Umesh; Patel, Dipesh C.; Brown, Pam; Hanif, Wasim; Townend, Johnathan N.; Kanumilli, Naresh; Moore, Jim; Wilding, John P. H.; Bain, Stephen C. (1 July 2021). "Optimising the Heart Failure Treatment Pathway: The Role of SGLT2 Inhibitors". Drugs. 81 (11): 1243–1255. doi:10.1007/s40265-021-01538-6. ISSN 1179-1950.
- ^ Wunderly, Kevin; Yousef, Zaheer; Bonny, Aimé; Weatherwax, Kevin J.; Lavan, Balasundaram; Allmendinger, Craig; Wasserman, Brad; Samson, George; Davis, Sheldon; Nel, George; Russell, James; Akwanalo, Constantine; Sani, Mahmoud U.; Chin, Ashely; Ajijola, Olujimi A.; Mayosi, Bongani M.; Eagle, Kim A.; Crawford, Thomas C. (December 2018). "Using reconditioned pacemakers to treat bradycardia in Africa". Nature Reviews. Cardiology. 15 (12): 725–726. doi:10.1038/s41569-018-0076-y. ISSN 1759-5010.
- ^ Bonny, Aimé; Ajijola, Olujimi A.; Jeilan, Mohamed; Sani, Mahmoud; Yousef, Zaheer; Yuyun, Matthew F.; Karaye, Kamilu; Nahib, Mervat Aboulmaaty; Aoudia, Yazid; Akinyi, Loreen; Ngantcha, Marcus; Subahi, Saad; Sogade, Felix; Chin, Ashley (January 2020). "Cardiac pacing in sub-Saharan Africa". Cardiovascular Journal of Africa. 31 (1): 3–4. doi:10.5830/CVJA-2020-001. ISSN 1680-0745. PMC 8762807.
- ^ "New Year Honours List 2025". GOV.UK.
- ^ "Register of Fellows". Rcp.ac.uk.
- ^ "King Charles III 2025 New Year Honours for RCP fellows". Rcp.ac.uk.