Executive Committee
Prof Nqoba Tsabedze (President)
Dr Nqoba Tsabedze is the Academic Head of the Division of Cardiology of the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also the Clinical Head of the Division of Cardiology at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. He completed his medical degree at the University of the Witwatersrand and subsequently specialised in internal medicine, obtaining his Fellowship with the College of Physicians of South Africa. He then further sub-specialised in Cardiology.
He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand. His research project is designed to identify the genetics responsible for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in our local population. He has been recipient of the prestigious Carnegie research grant (2015 – 2016), the South African Heart Association research award for 2016 and the South African Medical Association PhD scholarship for 2016. In 2017, he was awarded as one of the Mail & Guardian top 100 young South African leaders.
He has published in prestigious journals such as the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) and the International Journal of Cardiology. He is a reviewer for a number of local and international journals and the Medical Research Council (MRC) of South Africa.
Dr Tsabedze is passionate about teaching and training both undergraduate and postgraduate students. His research interests include acute and chronic heart failure epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, hypertensive heart disease, ischaemic heart disease and interventional cardiology. His aim is to ultimately perform globally competitive research which is both relevant and responsive to the health needs of South Africa. He is determined to improve the health.
Dr Martin Mpe (Ex-Officio President)
Dr Martin T. Mpe is a prominent South African cardiologist with a distinguished clinical practice, academic medicine, and healthcare leadership career. Since October 2023, he has been a private cardiologist at Raslouw Private Heart Hospital in Pretoria. He expanded his practice 2015 to include a group structure and consulting rooms at Netcare Pholoso Hospital in Polokwane, Limpopo. He also holds the position of session cardiologist and acting Head of the Department of the Heart Unit at No. 1 Military Hospital in Thaba-Tshwane.
Dr Mpe obtained his MBChB from the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA), followed by the Fellowship of the College of Physicians (FCP) in 1999 and a Master of Medicine in Internal Medicine (MMed) in 2000. He completed his cardiology training at the University of Pretoria and registered as a cardiologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in 2001. In 2024, he was admitted as a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and is currently completing an MBA in Healthcare Leadership at Wits Business School.
He is affiliated with various professional organisations, including the Medical Protection Society, the South African Heart Association (SA Heart), the South African Medical Association (SAMA), and the European Society of Cardiology. An academic contributor, Dr Mpe lectures in Sports Medicine at both the University of Pretoria and Wits University and serves on the Cardiovascular Journal of Africa editorial board. He is President of the SA Heart and previously presided over HEFSSA and the Southern African Hypertension Society, among numerous advisory and committee roles.
Prof Mpiko Ntsekhe (Treasurer)
Mpiko Ntsekhe is the Hellen and Morris Mauerberger Professor and Chair of Cardiology, at the University of Cape Town, and Head of The Cardiac Clinic at Groote Schuur Hospital. He is the current Vice President of the Pan African Society of Cardiology-South Region, past Vice President of the SA Heart Association and has held numerous leadership positions in organizations which seek to improve cardiovascular health access and care in South and sub-Saharan Africa. Ntsekhe has degrees from Brown (BA), Columbia (MD) and the University of Cape Town (MPhil & PhD) and completed his Internal Medicine and Cardiology specialty training at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. He is a well published, respected teacher-trainer, and clinician-researcher, with specific interests in the intersection between communicable and cardiovascular diseases in Africa and leveraging clinical trials to build clinical and research capacity across Africa while addressing the major causes of CVD related morbidity and mortality on the continent. For his contributions to cardiovascular medicine, Ntsekhe has received special recognition from the SA MRC, NRF, SA Academy of Sciences, UCT College of Fellows, and American College of Cardiology.
Other Members
Prof Eric Klug (Immediate Past President SA Heart )