Karen Kelly is a Registered Children’s and General Nurse, Nurse Prescriber, and Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) with a clinical specialism in heart failure. Her multidisciplinary career spans acute care, community health, global health initiatives, and the integration of digital innovation into clinical practice.

Karen’s clinical background includes paediatric intensive care, adult coronary care, heart failure management, social inclusion programmes, and cardiometabolic disease prevention within community settings. She has also volunteered in low- and middle-income countries, supporting frontline healthcare delivery in resource-constrained environments.

Prior to entering nursing, Karen held roles in international corporate finance and internet banking during the dot-com era. This early career experience has equipped her with a systems-level perspective and a strong foundation in strategic innovation—skills that she has since applied to healthcare transformation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in her role as a Heart Failure ANP, Karen led the implementation of remote monitoring solutions and integrated point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) into routine practice for fluid status assessment. These innovations enhanced service delivery, enabled early detection of decompensation, and contributed to a reduction in hospital readmissions.

Karen’s work is also shaped by her lived experience as a parent to two daughters with congenital heart disease. This perspective has deepened her understanding of patient-centred care and continues to inform her empathetic and inclusive approach to clinical practice and health system design.

She is currently contributing to a project with the Global Cardiac Alliance in remote regions of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, focused on early diagnosis of rheumatic and congenital heart disease. The initiative employs artificial intelligence algorithms for murmur detection and POCUS to improve access to diagnosis and treatment in underserved areas.

In 2024, Karen consulted for a leading NGO in Ireland, supporting the launch of a nationwide digital health screening programme that reached over 12,500 individuals.

Through her work with NGOs and her clinical consultancy, HeartPath, Karen is committed to bridging clinical care with emerging technology to address the growing global burden of cardiometabolic disease.