David Celermajer is Scandrett Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sydney and the Director of Echocardiography, Director of Research and Cardiologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is also Clinical Director at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney. After graduating from the University of Sydney with the University Medal in 1983, he went on to take up a Rhodes Scholarship. He completed his MSc at Oxford University in 1985 and a PhD on early atherosclerosis at the University of London in 1993. David was the World Debating Champion in 1983 and 1984. He has received much recognition for his cardiac research, including election to the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 1990, the Fellowship of the American Heart Association in 1998 and the Cardiac Society of Australia in 1998. He was awarded the New Zealand RT Hall Prize in 1998, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Eric Susman Medal in 1998, and the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, for outstanding lifetime contribution, in 2002.

Childhood origins of heart disease: The window of opportunity for cardiac prevention
by Professor David Celermajer

Disease of the heart and blood vessels is now the chief cause of death and disability in Australia, and indeed worldwide. Recent data indicate that the process of atherosclerosis, the main form of heart disease where plaques build up in arteries, actually begins in the first decades of life, even though the complications of the disease are usually seen much later. Our group has discovered techniques to ‘see’ the earliest signs of blood vessel damage. This defines which children or young adults develop cardiovascular disease, and it allows the study of the most important question of all – how to prevent late complications by treating people before symptoms arise.

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Childhood origins of heart disease: The window of opportunity for cardiac prevention

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