Hady Atef

Biography

Dr Hady A. Balabel is a Lecturer in Cardiovascular Exercise Physiotherapy at the School of Allied Health Professions, Keele University. He graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy from Cairo University, Egypt, in 2010, followed by an MSc in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation in 2015. In 2020, he completed a joint PhD between Cairo University and the University of Stirling, focusing on cardiovascular and sleep rehabilitation.

Over the past 15 years, Dr Balabel has held a teaching and research role at multiple Universities internationally including Switzerland, UK, and Egypt, where he contributed to undergraduate and postgraduate education in cardiorespiratory and geriatric rehabilitation. Between 2021 and 2023, he was affiliated with the University of Bern, Switzerland, conducting remote research in collaboration with international teams.

In 2022, Dr Balabel relocated to the UK and joined the NHS at Hartley Hospital, delivering specialist physiotherapy care. He became part of Keele University in May 2023, where his research interests include wearable technology validation, sleep management in cardiac rehabilitation, and the physiological responses to exercise in cardiovascular pathology.

Research and scholarship

Research interests

• Rehabilitation of life-limiting illnesses using cardiorespiratory and sleep management protocols.
  Grants
• NIHR-Pre-Application Support Fund (PASF) application March 2025 (status: accepted)
• “Sleep benefit in pulmonary artery hypertension: A multidisciplinary approach for pulmonary arterial hypertension using machine learning” (2022) (a collaboration project between Cairo University, Egypt, Nanyang technological institute, Singapore, Gothenburg University, Sweden, and Bern University, Switzerland) Role: PI (Status: under review).
• “Developing a sleep module for incorporation into cardiac rehabilitation programmes: A Feasibility Study” (2022) (a collaboration project between Cairo University, Egypt, Queen’s University of Belfast, and Wellcome Trust, UK) (Part of a conjoint British Heart Foundation (BHF) funded project, and European Respiratory Society (ERS) application) Role: PI (status: under review).
• “The use of virtual reality in the rehabilitation of patients with exercise-limited capacity” (2021) (a collaboration project between Cairo University institutions and faculties) Role: Co-investigator (status: accepted).
• “Reduced-Exertion High-Intensity Interval Training (REHIT) effect on mortality and lung cancer risks in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients”. (2021) (a collaboration project between Cairo University, Egypt, and Harvard University, USA) Role: Co-investigator (status: Shortlisted).
• “Response of sleep structure and cardiorespiratory fitness to reduced exertion interval training (REHIT) post coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG): A randomized mixed--methods feasibility study” (2021) (a collaboration project between Cairo University, Egypt, and Bern University, Switzerland) Role: PI (status: not funded but published: PMID: 3479560).

Abstracts of conferences

• Hady Atef, Kim Lund, Emily Hardy-Bosson, Adam Winterton, Emma Woodhouse and Eleanor Latham. Rethinking End-of-Life Care Education: Do Simulation-Based Approaches Improve Physiotherapy Students' Competence? CSP conference (2025) Newport, UK
• Hady Atef, Zeinab Helmy, Maysah Ahmed, Doa El-Ansary, Jacqueline Pengelly, and Heba A.Very Early balance training post coronary artery bypass surgery is safe and effective: Is it the time to recheck the current guidelines? ACRA conference (2025) Melbourne, Australia
• Hady Atef, Zeinab Helmy, Maysah Ahmed, Doa El-Ansary, Jacqueline Pengelly, and Heba A.Very Early balance training post coronary artery bypass surgery is safe and effective: Is it the time to recheck the current guidelines? ACRA conference (2025) Melbourne, Australia
• H Atef, K Lund, E Hardy-Bosson, A Winterton, E Woodhouse, and E Latham. Rethinking End-of-Life Care Education: Do Simulation-Based Approaches Improve Physiotherapy Students' Competence? CSP conference (2025), Newport, United Kingdom
• Hady Atef, Zeinab Helmy, Maysah Ahmed, Doa El-Ansary, Jacqueline Pengelly, Sam Jones and John Buckley.Very Early resistance training post valve replacement surgery is safe and effective: Is it the time to recheck the current guidelines? BACPR conference (2023), Cardiff, United Kingdom
• H Atef, Z M Helmy, M Elnaggar, E Marques-Sule, H Abdeen, Different levels of continuous training improve echocardiographic parameters, quality of life, and functional capacity in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction patients, European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, Volume 23, Issue Supplement_1, July 2024, zvae098.119.
• Hady Atef, Zeinab Helmy, Maysah Ahmed, Doa El-Ansary, Jacqueline Pengelly, Sam Jones and John Buckley.Very Early resistance training post valve replacement surgery is safe and effective: Is it the time to recheck the current guidelines? BACPR conference (2023), Cardiff, United Kingdom.
• N. Moreno Segura, L. Almenar-Bonet, L. Fuentes-Aparicio, H. Atef, S. Escudero, P. Escudero, R. Lopez-Vilella, T. Sentandreu-Mano, P. Pallares, R. Mesa-Rico, G. Berga-Congost, A. Sillero-Sillero, and E. Marques-Sule: “Kinesiophobia in heart transplantation patients: a cross-sectional study with a special focus in sex differences” ACNAP congress (2023), Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
• N. Moreno Segura, L. Almenar-Bonet, L. Fuentes-Aparicio, H. Atef, P. Escudero, R. Mesa-Rico, R. Lopez-Vilella, P. Pallares, T. Sentandreu-Mano, G. Berga-Congost, A. Sillero-Sillero, and E. Marques-Sule: “Musculoskeletal disorders in men and women with heart transplantation. A cross- sectional study.” ACNAP congress (2023), Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
• Atef H, A Salem, M Gaber, Muka T and H Obaya: Breathing and relaxation training effect on cardiometabolic risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes. Euroheart Care (2022), Mardrid, Spain.
• H Atef, A Magdy, A Mamdouh (2020):” Barriers of the nurses and allied professionals to implement proper cardiovascular rehabilitation programs in Egypt” In European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. Vol. 19. No. 1_ SUPPL. 1.
• Atef, H., Helmy, Z., Elameen, S., & Farghaly, A. (2019). "Measuring Sleep quality in older patients post coronary artery bypass graft surgeries:a comparison using subjective and objective methods". In Sleep and control of breathing (Vol. 54, p. PA891). European Respiratory Society. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.congress-2019.PA891.  
• H. Atef, Z. Helmy, M. Fadel, H. Abdeen, (2017): “Effect of low level laser on healing of induced cardiac shunts in dogs”, European Heart Journal, Volume 38, ssuesuppl_1, ehx493.P6320. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehx493.P6320
• H. Atef, Z. Helmy, M. Fadel, H. Abdeen, (2015): “Effect of low level laser on healing of moderate sized induced septal defects on rabbits”, Journal of Human Hypertension 29.10 (2015): 643-644.

Conferences attended

• ACNAP congress 2024, Wroclaw, Poland (speaker and chairperson)
• ESC congress 2023, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (speaker and chairperson)
• Japanese Circulation Society 2023, Fukuoka, Japan (Speaker)
• Indian Association of Physiotherapy 2023, Ahmedabad, India (Speaker)
• Cardioprevent international conference, 2021, Cairo, Egypt (Speaker)
• Euroheart Care conference 2020, Virtual Conference (Speaker).
• European respiratory society (ERS) congress 2019, Madrid, Spain. (Speaker)
• European society of cardiology (ESC) congress 2018, Munich, Germany. (Attendee)
• European society of cardiology (ESC) congress 2017, Barcelona, Spain. (Speaker)
• International conference and exhibition of pediatric cardiology 2015, Valencia, Spain. (Speaker)
• International conference of physical therapy and rehabilitation 2014, London.UK. (Speaker)
• International conference and exhibition of physical therapy and rehabilitation2013, Nevada, USA. (Speaker)
• National Conference of Human Performance in Health and Disability 2015 Cairo, Egypt. (Speaker)
• National Conference of Human Performance in Health and Disability 2014 Cairo, Egypt. (Speaker)
• National Conference of Human Performance in Health and Disability 2013 Cairo, Egypt. (Speaker)

Reviewing and chairing activities:

• Reviewer at many journals including Cochrane, European Heart journal (EHJ), European journal of cardiovascular nursing (EJCN), World Journal of Surgery (WJS), Frontiers in pharmacology, Sleep and breathing and Sleep Science.
• Abstract reviewer at international conferences: European society of cardiology (ESC) congress 2021, and 2023 Euroheart care 2022 and 2023.
• Chairman of rehabilitation sessions at international conferences: ESC Preventive Cardiology congress 2022, ACNAP congress 2023.
• Invited faculty speaker at ACNAP congress 2023, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Teaching

Hady's teaching includes cardiorespiratory physiotherapy and rehabilitation with the main interest and emphases in cardiac rehabilitation.

Further information

Hady is a Committee member and AHP representative on the European Society of Cardiology community for young professionals (2022-2024).

Supervision

Hady had supervised 2 Ph.D students and 17 master students till now.

Open to new PhD supervision.