Best cardiologists in Italy: TOP 19 doctors

Prof. Carlo Pappone is the Head of the Operative Unit of Clinical Arithmology and the Electrophysiology Laboratory at IRCCS Policlinico San Donato in Milan and an experienced Fellow in numerous international cardiology societies. He has a specialization in Cardiology from 1990 and a PhD in Cardiovascular Diseases from 1995, and has been involved in all electrophysiology procedures. He has also developed a new epicardial ablation procedure to identify and eliminate the mechanisms that trigger sudden death in Brugada syndrome patients. He has been an invited speaker and moderator at major national and international congresses in the field of cardiology and arrhythmology, and has a total of 184 scientific articles, 30 book chapters and 184 papers with 16,814 citations and an H-Index of 50. He is also a reviewer of numerous journals and has won an Elite Reviewer Award from the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) in 2006.

In 1995 he graduated at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery form the Catanzaro University “Magna Graecia”, where, in 2001, he specialized in Internal Medicine. In 2006 he attended the “State of the Art in AFIB and HF Treatments” course directed by Dr. Carlo Pappone. In 2014 he attended the Heart Rhythm Management Center Universitair Ziekenhuis in Brussel and obtained the certification for the procedures for the treatment of atrial fibrillation using cryoenergy (Cryoballon Training Program). In 2015, he was certified for MICRA-TPS leadless pacemaker implantation procedures at Medtronic Training Center in Minneapolis (MICRA-TPS Training Program).

Dr Iacopino is a member of important national and international scientific societies such as the American College of Cardiology, the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society, the European Heart Rhythm Association and the European Society of Cardiology. He directs several study projects, applicable to great benefit for the patient on the identification of rare syndromes associated with arrhythmias and heart failure, such as Brugada syndrome, or Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. He recently tested, for the first time in Italy, the CardioInsight, an innovative hi-tech jacket for 3D mapping of the heart rhythm disturbances. He has participated and hosted numerous medical conferences around the world, providing theoretical and practical preparation for the various interventional procedures aimed at electrophysiologists and electrophysiology technicians from all over Italy and abroad (United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Russia). He was a member of the AIAC National Electrophysiology and Ablation Registry, the AIAC Lead Extraction National Registry and the AIAC Pacemaker and Implantable Defibrillator National Registry.

He is author or co-author of several publications and interventions in prestigious medical journals (total impact factor: 169.098).

He has been awarded different fellowships: 

- Fellowship ANMCO (National Association of Hospital Cardiologists), Florence, 3 June 2007; 

- Fellowship ESC (European Society of Cardiology), Munich, 1 September 2008; 

- Fellowship ACC (American College of Cardiology), Atlanta, February 1, 2010

Education Dr. Castriota graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Milan. He continued his postgraduate training at the University of Bologna where he obtained two specializations: the first one in Cardiology in 1992 and then in Radiology. From 1995 to 1996 he spent a period as a Fellow in the "Arizona Heart Institute" under the supervision of Professor Diethrich.

Research Dr. Castriota is an active member of some scientific societies, such as SIRM (Italian Society of Medical Radiology), Fellow of the Scientific College of the Italian Society of Invasive Cardiology (GISE), Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (FESC), European Cardiovascular Interventional Society (EAPCI) and of ISES, International Society of Endovascular Specialist. He is the principal investigator of a recent Protected TAVR study, aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a particular device for brain protection during aortic valve replacement surgery using the TAVI endovascular method.

Publications He is a member of the International Editorial Board of Eurointervention, speaker and chairman for the execution of live cases in national and international conferences.

Author of about 150 full-length publications

Author of over 20 chapters in specialized volumes

Awards: NHMRC Career Development Fellowship, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, 2015.

Dr. Francesco Bedogni is an Interventional Cardiologist at San Donato Hospital in Milan and a European proctor for TAVI and MITRACLIP. He is a board member of the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology and is responsible for multiple clinical studies and position papers.

The prof. Giuseppe Speziale holds the positions of the National Coordinator of Cardiac Surgery of GVM Care & Research, the Director of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Anthea Hospital and Città di Lecce Hospital, and Director of the Department of Cardiac Surgery of the Santa Maria Hospital. He works at the Cardiological Clinical Institute (ICC) and San Carlo di Nancy Hospital in Rome. Since 2011 he has also held the position of Vice President of GVM Care & Research. In 2012 he occupied the charge of President of Confindustria Puglia, Health Section, and since 2018 he is Vice President of Aiop Puglia (Italian association of private hospitals). The prof. Speziale is a cardiac surgeon specializing in the minimally invasive surgical treatment of valve diseases, expert in minimally invasive repair of the mitral valve, in On and Off Pump myocardial revascularization, in thoracic aortic surgery. He is Co - Founder and President of the Scientific Committee of Mitral Academy, an independent association born from the passion for mitral surgery and the desire to pursue and share excellence in restorative surgery, with particular attention to minimally invasive techniques and the evaluation of potential therapeutic treatments deriving from the use of new technologies. Until 2016 he was elected Director of the Italian Society of Cardiac Surgery. He is part of the following associations: AATS (American Association for Thoracic Surgery), Italian Society of Cardiology Accredited Hospital, SICOA (active member), ISMICS (International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery). Since 2004 he has held the position of Scientific Director of the Italian Cardiopathic Association onlus.

In the field of scientific research, he focuses on new approaches, applicable in the field of minimally invasive and non-invasive mitral, aortic, cardiac arrhythmias and tricuspid surgery. He was the coordinator and researcher of the various projects of the National Research Council on Myocardial Infarction, on the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, on new technologies for carrying out coronary, cardiopulmonary and normothermic bypass. He was an adjunct professor at the Sapienza University of Rome where he held the Chair of Cardiology II, and at the University of Ferrara, where he teaches Cardiac Surgery. He has presented numerous scientific papers at national and international congresses of cardiology and cardiac surgery.

Bibliography: He is co-author of 6 books known nationally and internationally. The most recent one is Advances in Treatments for Aortic Valve and Root Diseases, publisher Springer International Publishing, 2018.

He is Reviewer and author of over 90 publications of multiple journals, such as Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, Heart & Lung: The Journal of Cardiopulmonary and Acute Care, European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal on Cardiac, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery etc.

Awards: “Top Doctors Awards”, 2021

Dr. Bernhard Reimers – Clinical and Invasive Cardiology Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital, was born in Germany. He graduated in medicine and surgery in University of Padua (Italy) in 1990, followed by specialization in Cardiology. During the first 3 years of specialization in Cardiology in the Coronary Unit of Padua University, his particular interests were in managing cardiovascular urgency and critical patients, including management of fans, balloon pump, hemofiltration, temporary pacing, placement of central venous pathways and Swan-Ganz catheter. He spent his last year of specialization at the Hemodynamics of Casa di Cura Columbus (Milan), where he acquired his knowledge on the main diagnostic techniques he uses. After a short period of study at the Thoraxcenter of Rotterdam, during which he wrote his first scientific publications, Dr. Reimers has dedicated himself to hemodynamics and cardiovascular surgeries, working as Unit Director main assistant, executing angioplasty, coronary and peripheral procedures, reaching complete autonomy in coronary stenting, atherectomy, ultrasound intravascular and intracoronary doppler.

Since September 1997 he has managed and developed the diagnostic and interventional cardiovascular program at the Department of Cardiology of Mirano (Venice), where, thanks to his achievements, since 2000 the highest number of coronary angioplasties were performed. In 2006 the Unit has performed 975 coronary angioplasties (including 125 primary), more than 400 carotid angioplasty and peripherals. Dr. Reimers became Unit Director and has trained and taught a young team of interventional cardiologists, including 4 completely independent in the performance of coronary angioplasty, which manages both hemodynamics and largely the CCU in close collaboration between the two services. After this important experience, he was invited to be part of Humanitas Research Hospital as Clinical and Invasive Cardiology Unit Director.

Dr. Reimers participates in many scientific studies on the treatment of myocardial infarction considering new interventional or pharmaceutical approaches for primary angioplasty. He was also member of the Technical Commission of the Regional Bid for the purchase of stents. Thanks to Dr. Reimers’ efforts, Hemodynamics of Mirano (Venice) is considered reference center for primary angioplasty and elective complex procedures. Dr. Reimers is considered to be one of the leading experts of carotid angioplasty worldwide. He is preparing a program for interventional treatment of acute stroke. He performs routine renal angioplasty and implants percutaneous devices and endoprosthesis systems for aortic aneurysms.

Dr. Reimers has published, as author or co-author, 77 articles quoted in Medline. The impact factor calculated based on 2006 is 263. He published 9 book chapters and several abstracts for important international conferences dedicated to Cardiology, such as TCT, PCR, National GISE ANMCO, JIM and ESC, were he also performed live invasive procedures.

Dr. Reimers has always considered participation in clinical trials and scientific international events among the main activities of his professional carrier. Besides teaching at University of Tor Vergata in Rome, he organizes many conferences, national and international medical follow-up courses. For over 9 years he has been organizing theoretical and practical courses with lectures and transmission of live procedures in Venice. He has so far organized two editions of TOBI, international meeting dedicated to invasive treatment of total coronary occlusions and bifurcations, three editions of ETI, international conference and the largest in Italy, dedicated to invasive cardiology devices. 

Dr. Reimers was member of the scientific committee in the editions of 2006 and 2007 of National Convention GISE (Italian Group of Hemodynamic Study) and participated at important events dedicated to CAPTURE study, ESIRIUS, SYNTAX, TIMI 38, FINESSE and many others.

Publications: ttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=bernhard

Prof. Raffaello Furlan is the Unit Director of the Internal Medicine Center Unit.

Since 1990 he has been focusing his clinical interests on hypotensive phenomena and episodes of loss of consciousness, organizing and developing a functional multidisciplinary unit called "Syncope and Posture Disorders Unit", as part of the Internal Medicine Unit where he worked (currently Medical Clinic, Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Rozzano, and in the past L. Sacco Hospital, Milan, and Bolognini Hospital, Bergamo). 

This unit is composed of a neurologist, an endocrinologist, a cardiologist and a psychiatrist, in accordance with clinical-care facilitated protocols. Thanks to this organizational structure, and thanks to the use a special clinical laboratory, more than 1600 tilt tests have been carried out, together with intensive work with outpatients and inpatients, which led to the care of patients also from other regions in Italy and abroad (France, Switzerland, Australia, Comoros Islands and United States).

The Syncope and Posture Disorders Unit is currently part of a worldwide network of centres that refer to the National Dysautonomia Research Foundation, an American non-profit foundation providing advice and support to patients with different types of dysautonomia and financing international research protocols on the subject.  

Research areas of interest:

From 1977 to 1984, he took an active part in studies conducted on experimental models, to clarify the nervous mechanisms of cardiac, cardio-vascular and vascular reflexes involved in the regulation of blood pressure and in the genesis of cardiac pain. He also applied techniques of direct recording of sympathetic nerve activity and spectral analysis to the study of cardiovascular variability in the physiological, pathophysiologic and pathological  fields, studying the changes in the nervous control of the cardiovascular system during postural changes, physical training, neuromediated syncope in patients suffering from dysutopianism (Pure Autonomic Failure), and in subjects with Chronic Orthostatic Intolerance, Fibromyalgia, Esophageal Reflux Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Parkinson’s disease. 

Since January 2004, the Syncope Unit directed by Prof. Furlan has conceived, realized and coordinated some observational multicentric studies aimed at studying the short-term prognosis of syncope, to evaluate the effectiveness of risk scales in the emergency room and the role of clinical judgement (steps studies, Short Term Prognosis of Syncope). The Syncope Unit was also an active part of EGSYS2 and other multicenter syncope studies. Currently, a study is underway to assess the effects of bilateral plantar stimulation on the path and neurovegetative profile of cardiovascular regulation in Parkinson’s disease. It involves 10 hospitals sponsored by the Lombardy region on syncope costs and a multicentric European study on the use of neuronal networks for syncope management in the emergency room.

Previous experience:

2007-2012 Hospital, Seriate, Italy
Director of Internal Medicine Unit, Outpatients and Day Hospital for medicine. 
1982-2007 Hospital, Milan, Italy
• Hospital assistant of Internal Medicine (Medicine II) until 1990. During this period, he was directly responsible for 8 beds in this Department and carried out regular call duties in the A&E Department. He was also involved in invasive measurements of blood pressure.

• Co-manager assistant in Internal Medicine (Medicine II; from February 1990). During this period, he was responsible for 12-18 beds of the Medicine Department, coordinating the work of two assistants. From January 2002 to January 2005 he had the title of "High Specialisation" in the field of disorders from orthostatic intolerance. From January 2005 he was responsible for the simple structure "Unit for Syncopes and Posture Disorders". 
• Following the incorporation process of Italian hospitals (as from 1996), he was involved in programmes for the ottimization of efficiency and cost reduction of the Medicine II Department and he had an active part in the discussion of the annual budget from 1998. He was responsible for the Day Hospital in Medicine II until January 2005. 

• He followed the course for Directors of Complex Operative Units, hospital area, edition UBMDSCO0201, held at the School of Management in Health of the Lombardy Region (I.Re.F.) in 2002, discussing the final project entitled "Evaluation of diagnostic performance and cost analysis of tilt test in the diagnosis of syncopal episodes", obtaining the resulting certification.

Publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=furlan r

Dott. Antonio Frontera is the Electrophysiology Unit Director in Humanitas Research Hospital.  

Medical areas of interest: 

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome in 2006, he specialized in Cardiology at the same university in 2012.

Soon after his specialization he moved to England where he was hired as a Clinical and Research Fellow in cardiac electrophysiology at the Bristol Heart Institute (NHS), Bristol. 
He won a scholarship from the European Society of Aritmology (EHRA) and completed his training in cardiac electrophysiology at the prestigious Haut Léveque Hospital in Bordeaux, France, directed by Prof. Michel Haïssaguerre. In the same French university, he obtained his PhD.

During these 5 years of training abroad, he performed about 800 trans catheter ablation surgeries focusing mainly on the treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias. As a researcher, he has published nearly 100 scientific papers on innovation and trans catheter ablation techniques, defibrillator and pacemaker functioning algorithms.

Back to Italy, he was employed at the Aritmology Unit of the San Raffale Hospital specializing in the treatment of ventricular tachycardia, performing more than 150 procedures as a first and second operator.

To date, Dr. Frontera is the author of more than 145 scientific papers published in international journals. He constantly participates in national and international congresses of the sector.

Research areas of interest:
He has particular interest in the analysis of endocavitary signals (EGMs) in ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation.

Thanks to a close collaboration with the Mathematics department of Politecnico di Milano, directed by Prof. Quarteroni, he studied innovative techniques for the treatment of complex arrhythmias.

Previous experience:
 

• Clinical and Research Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology - Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol, UK
• Clinical and Research Fellow in Cardiac Electrophysiology - Hôpital Haut Léveque, Bordeaux, FR

Publications: 

Sinus node exit, crista terminalis conduction, interatrial connection and wavefront collision: key features of human atrial activation in sinus rhythm.
Pambrun T, Derval N, Duchateau J, Ramirez FD, Chauvel R, Tixier R, Marchand H, Bouyer B, Welte N, André C, Nakashima T, Nakatani Y, Kamakura T, Takagi T, Krisai P, Ascione C, Balbo C, Cheniti G, Vlachos K, Bourier F, Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Frontera A, Meo M, Denis A, Sacher F, Hocini M, Jaïs P, Haïssaguerre M.Heart Rhythm. 2022 Jan 13

Electrogram fractionation during sinus rhythm occurs in normal voltage atrial tissue in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Frontera A, Limite LR, Pagani S, Cireddu M, Vlachos K, Martin C, Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Bourier F, Cheniti G, Pambrun T, Sacher F, Derval N, Hocini M, Quarteroni A, Della Bella P, Haissaguerre M, Jaïs P.Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2021

Slow Conduction Corridors and Pivot Sites Characterize the Electrical Remodeling in Atrial Fibrillation - ScienceDirect
Antonio Frontera MD, Ph.D1, Stefano Pagani Ph.D2, Luca Rosario Limite MD1, Andrea Peirone MD1, Francesco Fioravanti MD1, Bogdan Enache MD6, Jose Cuellar, MD4, Konstantinos Vlachos, MD5, Christian Meyer, MD, MA7, Giovanni Montesano, MD8, Andrea Manzoni, Ph.D2, Luca Dedè2 Ph.D2, Alfio Quarteroni, Ph.D2,3, Decebal Gabriel Lațcu, MD6, Pietro Rossi MD, Ph.D9, Paolo Della Bella MD1.
JACC EP Jan 2022

Right ventricular outflow tract electroanatomical abnormalities in asymptomatic and high-risk symptomatic patients with Brugada syndrome: Evidence for a new risk stratification tool?
Letsas KP, Vlachos K, Conte G, Efremidis M, Nakashima T, Duchateau J, Bazoukis G, Frontera A, Mililis P, Tse G, Cheniti G, Takigawa M, Pambrun T, Prappa E, Sacher F, Derval N, Sideris A, Auricchio A, Jais P, Haissaguerre M, Hocini M.J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2021

Effect of electrode size and spacing on electrograms: Optimized electrode configuration for near-field electrogram characterization.
Takigawa M, Kitamura T, Basu S, Bartal M, Martin CA, Martin R, Cheniti G, Vlachos K, Pillois X, Frontera A, Massoullié G, Thompson N, Bourier F, Lam A, Duchateau J, Pambrun T, Denis A, Derval N, Cochet H, Haïssaguerre M, Sacher F, Hocini M, Jaïs P.Heart Rhythm. 2022 Jan;

Dr. Daniela Pini is the Head of the Cardio-respiratory rehabilitation Unit.

Medical areas of interest: Dr. Daniela Pini has been working and researching heart failure and has gained considerable experience in the management of advanced forms of this pathology. She is also very interested in the evaluation and "overall" management of patients suffering from this disease, which mainly affects elderly people and who already have other chronic diseases, which, if neglected, can easily impair the effectiveness of treatment for heart failure itself.

Research areas of interest: new therapies for advanced heart failure: replacement therapy of the heart with mechanical assistance devices to the circulation or heart transplant. New drugs and devices. Multidisciplinary patient management programs.

Further information of interest: thanks to the high competence of cardiosurgeons, electrophysiologists and hemodynamists, Humanitas can count, as a clinical cardiologist, on a team that allows it to offer the patient all the range of therapeutic options for heart failure.

From June 2000 to October 2001 she was Visiting Assistant Professor at the Cardiovascular Division Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. During this period, she worked in the Heart Failure/Heart Transplantation Program, where she participated in the management of patients with advanced heart failure waiting for transplantation, dealing in particular with medical complications in patients with mechanical assistance devices. She has also worked with kidney, kidney-pancreas, pancreas-insulae, lung, liver and heart transplant teams, dealing with the multiple aspects of managing solid organ transplant recipients.

She worked in the Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, at the Cardiomyopathy and Heart Transplantation Service, dealing mainly with patients with advanced heart failure and undergoing a cardiac transplant.

Dr. Pini is a member of the coordination committee of the Decompensation Area of the National Association of Medical Hospital Cardiologists – ANMCO. In the last two years she has been mainly concerned on building a network of “heart failure clinics” on the national territory.