A healthier heart

  • September 13, 2012

A Gates Cambridge alumnus has co-authored a study showing a person's lack of fitness is a key indicator of their likelihood of dying from heart disease - independent of whether they suffer from blocked arteries.

A person’s lack of fitness is a key indicator of their likelihood of dying from heart disease independent of whether they suffer from blocked arteries, according to a study which has been co-authored by a Gates Cambridge alumnus.

The study, Exercise capacity is the strongest predictor of mortality in patients with peripheral arterial disease, is co-authored by Kevin Nead and was recently presented at the Society for Vascular Medicine. It shows that having problems taking moderate exercise is a good indicator of whether a person with peripheral arterial disease is likely to die from cardiovascular causes.

Kevin, who has just completed an MPhil in Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, was awarded an American Heart Association Student Scholarship in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in June and this month was also awarded the American Association for Cancer Research Scholar-in-Training Award for work related to his MPhil thesis.

He says: “Peripheral arterial disease is an understudied and underdiagnosed condition and we are still working to determine how to best identify individuals with the disease and to improve patients’ outcomes. This study is a small step in understanding the risk factors for patients with peripheral arterial disease and potentially identifies an avenue for new clinical interventions.“

 

Latest News

Exploring nuclear security at a time of global tensions

Janani Mohan [2023] is at the centre of one of the biggest topics of our times – nuclear security. Janani is an expert in nuclear policy, having worked in the […]

Scholars launch mentorship scheme to help Palestinian students

A group of students, initially brought together by Gates Cambridge Scholars, and now expanding beyond both Gates and Cambridge, has formed the Palestine Educational Opportunity Initiative (Pal Ed) to support […]

How and where do religious minorities claim their rights?

A Gates Cambridge has just published a book which charts a new way of understanding minority rights based on an exploration of the everyday life of Muslim women’s activism in […]

Exploring the impact of the environment on health

In 2016, at the age of 17, Shin Zert Phua travelled to Singapore to study for a three-year diploma in mechanical engineering. Three months later his father was diagnosed with […]