Elham Bidar

Professor

Elham Bidar studied medicine at Maastricht University, within the problem-based learning (PBL) system, a philosophy he now strategically integrates into education, research, and clinical care. The PBL approach allowed him to begin early scientific research in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery (CTC), resulting in a PhD in 2018, on the topic 'Assessment of the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of atrial fibrillation during and after cardiac surgery' supervised by Prof. Uli Schotten and Prof. Jos G. Maessen.

Since 2019, he has served as a staff member in CTC at Maastricht UMC+, where he specializes in open and minimal invasive cardiovascular surgery including throacoscopic AF ablation and open aortic procedures.

As of April 2025, he is appointed Head of the Department of CTC at the Heart+Vascular Center and Chairman and Principal Investigator of the department at CARIM.

Within the CARIM+HVC network, he fosters close collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists to address clinical challenges through transdisciplinary research, using open-heart surgery and the heart-lung machine as in vivo models. Key focus areas include electrophysiology, organ perfusion and mechanical circulatory support, and aortic pathology.

Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery
P. Debeyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht
P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht

2026
- Lo Coco, V., Di Mauro, M., Mariani, S., Bidar, E., Hryniewicz, K., Loforte, A., Fux, T., Heuts, S., Wiedemann, D., Kawcynsky, M., Verbelen, T., Broman, L. M., Kremer, J., Pozzi, M., Takeda, K., Boeken, U., Chen, Y. S., Masiello, P., Vogel, D. J., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Corrigendum to ‘Evaluation of dual-lumen pulmonary artery cannulation in extracorporeal right ventricular support’ [JTCVS Open. 2026;30: 101699]. JTCVS open, 33, Article 102058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjon.2026.102058
- Lo Coco, V., Di Mauro, M., Mariani, S., Bidar, E., Hryniewicz, K., Loforte, A., Fux, T., Heuts, S., Wiedemann, D., Kawcynsky, M., Verbelen, T., Broman, L. M., Kremer, J., Pozzi, M., Takeda, K., Boeken, U., Chen, Y.-S., Masiello, P., Vogel, D. J., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Evaluation of dual-lumen pulmonary artery cannulation in extracorporeal right ventricular support (vol 30 , 101699 , 2026). JTCVS open, 33, Article 102058. https://www.jtcvsopen.org/article/S2666-2736(26)00122-1/fulltext
- Kawczynski, M. J., Gilbers, M. D., Winters, J., Maesen, B., Isaacs, A., Linz, D., Rienstra, M., van Gelder, I., Maessen, J. G., Bidar, E., & Schotten, U. (2026). Circadian patterns of device-detected postoperative atrial fibrillation during 2.5 years of continuous monitoring after cardiac surgery: The RACE V–Tissue Bank Study. Heart Rhythm O2, 7(10), 1884-1899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hroo.2026.06.023
- Coveliers, J., Meani, P., Huizinga, E., Gutta, K., Piccirillo, G., Gasparotti, E., Vignali, E., Mazzoli, M., Kowalewski, M., Huberts, W., Moradi, H., Di Mauro, M., Holtackers, R. J., de Jong, M., Gelsomino, S., Paparella, D., Celi, S., Haxhiademi, D., Körver, E., ... Lorusso, R. (2026). Large-scale computed tomography study of aortic arch and supra-aortic artery morphology: Variations and potential implications for arterial extracorporeal life support access. Perfusion, 41(6), 1055-1064. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676591251370074
- van Susante, L., Janssen, L., Bidar, E., Slooter, G., & Sardari Nia, P. (2026). The Long-Term Impact of a Teleprehabilitation Programme on Modifiable Risk Factors and Quality of Life After Cardiac Surgery. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, 68(8), Article ezag207. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejcts/ezag207
- Winters, J., Kawczynski, M., Gilbers, M., Isaacs, A., Zeemering, S., Habibi, Z., Rienstra, M., van Gelder, I., Maesen, B., Bidar, E., Verheule, S., & Schotten, U. (2026). Histological evaluation of clinically defined atrial cardiomyopathy stages and their association with atrial fibrillation burden under continuous monitoring for a 2.5-year follow-up. EP Europace, 28(7), Article euag146. https://doi.org/10.1093/europace/euag146
- Husen, T. F., Lotfalla, A., Schreurs, R., Korver, E., Verheule, S., Schurgers, L., Jacobs, M., Lorusso, R., Heuts, S., & Bidar, E. (2026). Advanced organ protection strategies in aortic arch surgery: A narrative review. Perfusion. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02676591261466148
- ter Bekke, R., Kaya, Y., Pison, L., Evertz, R., Vernooy, K., Luermans, J., Vroomen, M., Jeurissen, J., Chaldoupi, M., Bidar, E., Lorusso, R., Sauren, B., Lameir, M., & Maesen, B. (2026). Patient-tailored minimally invasive hybrid ablation of complex ventricular tachycardia substrates. JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology, 12(7), 1544-1555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2026.02.031
- Heuts, S., de Keijzer, A. R., Adriaans, B. P., Notenboom, M. L., Mihl, C., Wildberger, J. E., Vos, R. J., Post, M. C., Rylski, B., Czerny, M., Reesink, K. D., Takkenberg, J. J. M., Veen, K. M., Arabkhani, B., Schalla, S. S., Schurgers, L. J., Lorusso, R., Hjortnaes, J., & Bidar, E. (2026). Rethinking Aortic Risk: The Potential Impact of Novel, Adjusted, and Combined Aortic Measures in the Prediction of Aortic Dissection. The Canadian journal of cardiology, 42(7), 1686-1696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2026.01.023

Overview

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Elham Bidar

Professor