We are pleased to announce the next session in our educational webinar series, Athlete’s Heart or Cardiomyopathy? Distinguishing Physiological Adaptation from Pathology, taking place on Tuesday 8th December at 5:00–6:00pm.

This practical and clinically focused webinar will explore the diagnostic challenges of differentiating physiological cardiac remodelling in athletes from underlying cardiomyopathy, with a particular focus on contemporary imaging techniques and their application in clinical practice.

Led by Dr Peter Swoboda (Associate Professor, University of Leeds), Dr Henry Procter (Cardiology ST6 Registrar, Leeds General Infirmary), and Lizette Cash (MRI Radiographer, Leeds General Infirmary), the session will provide expert insight into the assessment of athletes with suspected cardiac disease.

The programme will cover three key topics:

As participation in competitive and recreational sport continues to grow, distinguishing physiological adaptation from underlying cardiac pathology remains an important clinical challenge. Advances in cardiovascular imaging, including tissue characterisation and exercise CMR, offer valuable opportunities to improve diagnostic confidence and guide clinical decision-making.

Dr Peter Swoboda is a consultant cardiologist and associate professor based in the University of Leeds. There he leads a Sports Cardiology research group using latest technology (including 3.0T cardiac MRI, cardiopulmonary exercise testing and ambulatory rhythm monitoring) to research cardiac arrhythmia in veteran endurance athletes.

The research group includes PhD students who are typically senior cardiology fellows and allied health professionals such as exercise physiologists. He has over £1 million in grant funding from the British Heart Foundation and Heart Research UK to support his athletes research. His  work in this field (most recently VENTOUX published in 2025) has been highly cited and also featured in the popular media such as BBC, ITN and the conversation. He is also a keen member of his local running club having finished 9 marathons.

Dr Henry Procter is an ST6 Cardiology Registrar at Leeds General Infirmary, having recently completed a Heart Muscle Fellowship within the Leeds cardiology programme.

He graduated from the University of Leeds in 2014 and completed a PhD in 2025 focused on cardiac MRI and the impact of type 2 diabetes on outcomes following aortic valve replacement, alongside translational work exploring mitochondrial oxidative stress as a therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

He is EACVI Level 3 accredited in cardiac MRI and has clinical and research interests in cardiovascular imaging, heart failure and inherited cardiac conditions.

Lizette Cash is an MRI Radiographer with over 12 years of CMR experience. Originally from New Zealand, she moved to the UK in 2007.

Until 2021 she was the Operational Lead at Bart’s Heart Centre and St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Bart’s NHS Trust). At BHC she helped establish a robust scanning service nationally for patients with CIEDs running regular courses on MRI for patients with cardiac devices.

More recently, Lizette moved to North Yorkshire and now works predominantly in Cardiac MRI research with the team at Leeds General Infirmary (LTHT). Here she has developed additional skills in spectroscopy and congenital CMR.  In addition to this, she has recently joined the Core Labs team with Mycardium AI as QC Radiographer and continue to be the Yorkshire and Humberside representative for the BSCM Radiographer’s Working Group- since 2019.

We look forward to welcoming you to another engaging BSCMR educational webinar.

This event is free for BSCMR members. Attendees will receive 1 CPD credit upon attendance and feedback completion.