Raimund Erbel

University Duisburg-Essen, Germany

Biography

Raimund Erbel studied medicine in cologne and Düsseldorf. His internship lead him to hospitals in Düsseldorf, Leverkusen, Koblenz, and Aachen. In Mainz hernwas signed consultant and received a Professorship in 1993, tenure-ship in 1998 and became a full professor and director of the department of cardiology in Essenrn 2003, where he worked until 2015. He was able to built up the 1st Heart Center located within a University Clinic in Germany providing an excellent partnership withrnthe department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. The highlight was the opening of 1st hybrid room allowing heart catheterization and cardiovascular surgeryrn without transportation of the patient in a specially designed room, so that cardiologists, anesthesiologists and cardiac surgeons found ideal working spaces. Early inrn1993 he become aware of the new electron beam computed tomography which was installed in Bochum und Mülheim. The detection of coronary artery calcifications an early sign of atherosclerosis by this non invasive method was fascinating. He started to evaluate the possibilities of primary prevention. In 2.000 he startedrnthe Heinz Nixdorf Recall study funded by the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation. This study is now in its 16th year of follow up and has already started a multi generation cohort. The study received national and international reputation and is currently involved in many multi-centre epidemiological projects looking not only to known cardiovascular risk factors but also to psychosocial factors as well as effects of pollution.