Professor Rebecca Ritchie has joined the board of Heartbeat Victoria, helping expand the group’s ability to improve heart health through its cardiac peer support work.
Professor Ritchie is a cardiac pharmacologist at Monash University in Melbourne. She obtained her PhD from the University of Adelaide, in the Cardiology Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Before joining Monash, Rebecca enjoyed fulfilling career roles at both USA-based Wayne State University as well as at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne.
Her work focusses on improving the understanding of heart failure, and which treatment approaches might better suit different people’s needs. She is a strong believer in engaging with the larger community to talk about her research.
Rebecca says “truly valuable insights have come out of my conversations with people with lived experience of heart failure, whether their own or caring for a close family member. By knowing what’s important to people in the cardiac community can help guide us in how we design our research studies. One of my big hopes is that people in the cardiac community are just as keen to have these conversations with people doing heart research. Active participation with both sides of the conversation is usually beneficial, whether someone wants answers to the easier questions such as why their GP or cardiologist want them to have certain tests or take different medications, to the really tricker questions like Why Me”.
She adds that “from a personal perspective, I have lived experience of the impact of the disproportionate impact of cardiovascular disease management in rural and remote communities. I grew up in a rural community more than 650km from the nearest capital city, following several generations of my immediate family. Indeed, my paternal grandfather died prematurely there, suffering a fatal heart attack at 62. My family history also includes stroke on both sides”.
The board of Heartbeat Victoria is looking forward to working with Rebecca to help improve heart health in the community.