Dr Paulus’ main research topic is the pathophysiology of diastolic heart failure. Diastolic heart failure, also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, results from diastolic stiffening of the myocardium and not from reduced systolic contractile performance. In an ageing population, this form of heart failure is rapidly becoming the main heart failure phenotype observed in 60% of patients. So far, no single treatment modality has been shown to improve prognosis in diastolic heart failure. Over the last ten years, many novel pathophysiological insights relating to diastolic heart failure have been acquired in Dr Paulus’ laboratory at VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam.
