National Heart Centre Singapore and Mayo Clinic to advance cardiovascular care and research

Singapore, 20 June 2025 – The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) and Mayo Clinic have collaborated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate cardiovascular innovation and research, and to foster knowledge for future cardiovascular care worldwide.

Advancing Cardiovascular Care, Research and Knowledge Exchange

The collaboration brings together Mayo Clinic's expertise with NHCS's deep understanding of Asian cardiovascular health. By establishing a collaborative platform for knowledge exchange, the joint effort will hope to create new opportunities for breakthrough research and accelerate the development of new treatment paradigms that will benefit Asian and global patient populations.

Several high priorities areas were identified as initial steps for the collaboration:

1. Cardio-oncology: An emerging field that focuses on protecting the heart health of cancer patients which is increasingly important in Asia given the growing burden of both heart and cancer conditions. As cancer therapies may affect cardiovascular function, the seamless integration of cardiology and oncology expertise ensures optimal patient care. Mayo Clinic has established specialised cardio-oncology clinics across various campuses to provide comprehensive cardiovascular care for cancer patients. Similarly, NHCS recognises the significance of this field and integrated care strategies to enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life in cancer patients. This alignment in clinical priorities presents valuable opportunities for both institutions to explore knowledge exchange, and potential collaborations in cardio-oncology education, research and clinical care.
2. Innovative Healthcare Solutions to Transform Cardiovascular Care: This collaboration also brings together complementary strengths in healthcare innovation, particularly in novel biomarkers and digital imaging technologies to improve patient care, benefit patients with complex conditions and set new standards for cardiac care in the region. A key focus area involves artificial intelligence-enabled digital biomarkers and cardiac imaging. With this collaboration, NHCS will contribute its extensive cardiovascular database of Asian populations, including significant findings from the landmark SingHeart¹ study. Together, the institutions will evaluate and enhance the performance of AI-ECG algorithms across diverse Asian cohorts, ensuring their reliability, safety and efficacy.
3. Aging and frailty: The health of the aging population is an area of increasing concern. Early identification of cardiovascular aging using bio and digital markers, advanced imaging modalities, and prevention, including novel therapy, are of mutual interest.

Future Plans

Looking ahead, NHCS and Mayo Clinic envision co-developing shared intellectual property, clinical protocols and guidelines that serve Western and Asian populations. This strategic alignment will accelerate innovation in cardiac care and foster cross-exchange of expertise to empower healthcare professionals through training and education to impact cardiovascular care and outcomes on a global scale.

“This collaboration brings together two leading academic cardiovascular medical centres with similar values and strong commitment to patient care to co-create better outcomes for our patients," said Professor Yeo Khung Keong, Chief Executive Officer, NHCS. "Cardiovascular disease remains a leading health concern in Asia, making it crucial to address its challenges. With this collaboration, we aim to accelerate the development of solutions tailored to our population's specific needs while building capabilities that will benefit future generations of healthcare professionals.”

“The Mayo Clinic Cardiovascular Research Centre is looking forward to the upcoming collaboration and shares the mutual vision of improving cardiovascular health worldwide,” said Professor Amir Lerman, Director of the Mayo Cardiovascular Research Centre and Barbara Woodward Lips Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic.  

“We look forward to collaborating to enhance the insights and tools that will improve global cardiovascular health through screening, detection, therapy, and understanding of disease mechanisms,” said Professor Paul Friedman, Chair, Cardiovascular Medicine Honouring Robert L. Frye, M.D. and the Betty Knight Scripps - George M. Gura, Jr., M.D., Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic.

This collaboration is a result of a two-day scientific meeting between NHCS and Mayo Clinic, which is supported by the Tanoto Foundation - an independent family foundation that catalyses system changes in education, healthcare and leadership development.

References:

1. SingHEART is a national 20-year study on a cohort of relatively healthy individuals, using comprehensive clinical information, advanced imaging, cardiovascular exercise physiology, metabolomics and genetic analysis.

Media Contact

About the National Heart Centre Singapore

The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) is a leading national and regional referral centre for cardiovascular diseases, offering 185 beds and a comprehensive range of cardiac care services from preventive to rehabilitative. Ranked #12 as the World’s Best Cardiology Hospital by Newsweek 2025, NHCS’s clinical outcomes are consistently recognised at the international level, meeting or exceeding global standards. It is also the only facility in Singapore providing heart transplantation programme.

As an academic medical centre, NHCS is committed to training healthcare professionals and advancing cardiovascular health through cutting-edge translational research in collaboration with local and international collaborators.

For more information, please visit: www.nhcs.com.sg

Annex A

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Suggested caption:
The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) inks a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mayo Clinic in a collaboration to accelerate advancement in cardiovascular care and research, and foster knowledge and innovation to transform cardiovascular care. 
(L-R) Assistant Professor Ng Choon Ta, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology, Professor Derek Hausenloy, Director, National Heart Research Institute Singapore (NHRIS) and Professor Yeo Khung Keong, Chief Executive Officer, from NHCS, together with Professor Paul Friedman, Chair of Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Professor Amir Lerman, Director of Cardiovascular Research Center, from Mayo Clinic.