Professor Heidbuchel graduated as MD in 1986 and obtained a PhD in Physiology in 1992. He worked as Research Fellow of the NIH and Fogarty International at the University of Oklahoma (1993–1994) and was Fundamental Clinical Investigator of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders from 1996 till 2006.
He started as Professor of Cardiology – Arrhythmology at the University of Leuven, Belgium in 1994. In October 2016, he became the Chair of Cardiology at Antwerp University. He was President of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) for a 2018-2020 term.
He has published over 400 papers in international peer-reviewed journals.