The Egyptian Cardiac Rhythm Association

Dr. El-Sherif is an internationally recognized expert in the field of basic and clinical cardiac electrophysiology. He has published over 450 peer reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters and has authored and co-authored eight books. He is a member of the editorial board of several national and international journals and served on the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, and Veterans Affairs Central Office research study groups. His research has been consistently supported by federal and non-federal grants for the last 34 years and has dealt with the link between molecular biology, ion channel physiology, cellular electrophysiology and clinical presentations of cardiac arrhythmias.

Dr El-Sherif has made several seminal contributions to understanding electrophysiological mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias in general and in myocardial ischemia/infarction in particular. His early studies on the canine post-infarction model resulted in the description of the figure-of-eight reentrant circuit. This was later confirmed in clinical studies where surgical or electrode catheter ablation of the slow common pathway of the figure-of-eight circuit was utilized as a therapeutic measure in appropriate patients. His experimental studies in the canine pericarditis atrial flutter model contributed to identifying the atrial flutter circuit isthmus by showing that ablation of the slow zone of the circuit between the inferior vena cava and tricuspid ring resulted in termination of atrial flutter. This became the basis of the successful technique of radiofrequency ablation of atrial flutter circuit in the clinical setting. His more recent studies have provided significant understanding of the electrophysiological mechanism of torsades de pointes arrhythmias in both the congenital and acquired long QT syndrome and the electrophysiological basis of the use of T-wave alternans as a marker of susceptibility to malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Dr El-Sherif also contributed toward introducing the technique of signal averaged electrocardiography to clinical practice as a non-invasive marker of ventricular electrical vulnerability. His recent basic research involves studies of post-infarction signal transduction pathways as targets of novel therapeutic interventions in post-infarction patients.

Nabil has also contributed to graduate and post-graduate medical education and has trained many clinical and basic cardiac electrophysiology scientists who came to his clinical and basic laboratories from all over the world. He has served on numerous national and international assignments. He has received several honorary awards including the 2007 Outstanding Achievement Award from the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society (ECAS) and the 2010 Pioneer of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology from the Heart Rhythm Society.