A researcher of the North-West University (NWU) has been selected to serve on the board of directors of the South African Heart Association (SA Heart®). He will also work in its executive and stakeholder committees.

Prof Ruan Kruger from the Hypertension in Africa Research Team (HART) will serve on the board for a period of three years. “It is a great honour. The SA Heart® board comprises the best cardiologists in South Africa, and for me as a physiologist to be selected is a wonderful milestone.”

According to Prof Kruger, his involvement on the SA Heart® board will also benefit the research of the HART team, as it will ensure greater visibility on this national – and broader – platform of the groundbreaking work the team does.

He is no stranger to the championing of cardiovascular research, both internationally and nationally. Prof Kruger is a C1-rated researcher and the current president of the Childhood Hypertension Consortium of South Africa (CHCSA). He also held the DSI-NRF SARChI Research Chair in the Early Detection and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Africa, with a research focus on cardiovascular disease development in children and young adults. He serves on the board of the South African Hypertension Society (SAHS) and the International Pediatric Hypertension Association (IPHA), and holds a fellowship with the International Society of Hypertension (ISH), among other associations.

As a prolific researcher, Prof Kruger also leads several paediatric research studies in South Africa, including the ExAMIN Youth SA study, and contributes to global health awareness and educational campaigns to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular disease from young ages.

More about SA Heart®

SA Heart® and its affiliates are the scientific leaders in South Africa in cardiovascular healthcare delivery, research and education.

The South African Heart Association formally started in September 1999 and became a non-profit company, the South African Heart Association NPC (SA Heart®), in 2016.

Their membership comprises a range of medical professionals, including adult and paediatric cardiologists, surgeons, medical technologists, nursing personnel and other healthcare providers.

The special interest groups affiliated with SA Heart® include the Paediatric Cardiac Society of South Africa, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Society of Southern Africa, the Cardiac Imaging Society of South Africa, the South African Society of Cardiovascular Intervention together with the Interventional Society of Cath Lab Professionals, the Heart Failure Society of South Africa, the South African Society of Cardiac Research and the Lipid and Atherosclerosis Society of Southern Africa.

Click here for more information about the SA Heart® board of directors.

Prof Ruan Kruger.

Members of the SA Heart® board of directors include Dr Martin Mpe, Maryna Wiesner, Mandi Fine, Prof Nqoba Tsabedze, Dr Tony Dalby, Dr Eric Klug, Dr Tim Pennel and Prof Ruan Kruger.