Dr. Reem Al Tuwaijri

Dr. Reem Al Tuwaijri is a consultant cardiologist and cardiac imaging specialist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh — Saudi Arabia's premier tertiary medical institution and one of the most advanced hospitals in the Middle East. Her practice integrates state-of-the-art cardiac imaging modalities with a strong commitment to preventive cardiology, addressing the significant burden of cardiovascular disease in the Saudi population.

As one of the leading women in Saudi cardiology, Dr. Al Tuwaijri trained in Canada and returned to KFSH&RC to develop the cardiac imaging program, expanding its capabilities in cardiac MRI and advanced echocardiography. She leads a dedicated cardiac imaging unit that evaluates complex cardiomyopathies, valvular disease, and congenital anomalies in both pediatric and adult patients referred from across the Kingdom and surrounding Gulf states.

Her preventive cardiology work addresses the intersection of cardiovascular risk factors that are particularly prevalent in the Saudi context: type 2 diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. She runs structured cardiac risk reduction clinics and contributes to the KFSH&RC cardiovascular prevention program, working collaboratively with endocrinologists, bariatric surgeons, and dietitians.

Dr. Al Tuwaijri is bilingual in Arabic and English and is committed to advancing the role of Saudi women in academic medicine through mentoring junior female physicians and medical students.

Dr. Al Tuwaijri completed her MBBS at King Saud University College of Medicine in Riyadh. She undertook internal medicine residency at KFSH&RC before traveling to Canada for cardiology subspecialty training, completing a Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Toronto. She subsequently completed a dedicated Cardiac Imaging Fellowship at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Toronto General Hospital, with advanced training in cardiac MRI and echocardiography. She holds the FRCPC (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada) designation in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC).

Dr. Al Tuwaijri's clinical expertise centers on multimodality cardiac imaging. She performs and interprets cardiac MRI with gadolinium-delayed enhancement for the assessment of myocardial viability, sarcoidosis, myocarditis, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Her echocardiography practice encompasses standard transthoracic, transesophageal, stress (exercise and dobutamine), and 3D echocardiography. She interprets nuclear cardiology studies and coronary CT angiography and provides integrated imaging reports for complex structural and ischemic heart disease. In the preventive cardiology clinic, she conducts comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessments including coronary artery calcium scoring and carotid intima-media thickness measurements.

Dr. Al Tuwaijri is an active researcher in cardiac imaging and cardiovascular epidemiology. She has published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Cardiovascular Imaging and the Saudi Medical Journal on topics including cardiac MRI findings in Saudi patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and the cardiovascular risk profile of Saudi women. She participates in KFSH&RC's cardiovascular research program and presents findings at the Saudi Heart Association Annual Meeting and the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions.

KFSH&RC serves as a regional referral hub for complex cardiovascular cases from across the Arab world, East Africa, and South Asia. Dr. Al Tuwaijri's cardiac imaging expertise is particularly sought for second opinions on complex cardiomyopathy diagnoses and pre-operative cardiac evaluation. She consults in Arabic and English. Video consultations are available for patients who require preliminary imaging review or a second opinion before traveling to Riyadh for definitive assessment and treatment.

Dr. Al Tuwaijri has received the KFSH&RC Excellence in Clinical Practice Award and has been recognized by the Saudi Heart Association for her contributions to cardiac imaging in the Kingdom. She serves on the Saudi Women in Cardiology task force and is a mentor in the KFSH&RC women in medicine program. She has been invited as a visiting speaker at Gulf cardiology symposia.