Department of Critical Cardiology and Rehabilitation

Heart Failure and Clinical Cardiology Unit

Quick Facts

The Heart Failure Unit uses the most modern diagnostic, assessment and therapeutic instruments (cardiopulmonary exercise testing, respiratory function tests, gas diffusing studies, echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Imaging Unit, ultra/haemofiltration, counter-stimulation in collaboration with the Intensive Coronary Care Unit, and electrostimulation in collaboration with the Arrhythmia Unit).

The Heart Failure, Clinical Cardiology and Rehabilitation Cardiology Unit focuses on the management of patients with decompensated cardiac dysfunction. Depending on the severity and the diagnostic needs, the patient is admitted to hospital and/or managed through specific outpatient appointments.

Heart failure is one of the most common diseases in the western world. The treatment of this syndrome involves first of all identification of the triggering cause and then establishing adequate, targeted pharmacological and non-pharmacological protection.

The Heart Failure Unit uses the most modern diagnostic, assessment and therapeutic instruments (cardiopulmonary exercise testing, respiratory function tests, gas diffusing studies, echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography in collaboration with the Cardiovascular Imaging Unit, ultra/haemofiltration, counter-stimulation in collaboration with the Intensive Coronary Care Unit, and electrostimulation in collaboration with the Arrhythmia Unit).

Mecki Score: Metabolic Exercise Cardiac Kidney Index

The Mecki Score is an instrument for calculating the risk of chronic systolic heart failure reserved exclusively for clinical use by physicians.

→ Go to the Mecki Score

Research Activities

  • In the Cardiopulmonary Research Laboratory of the Monzino patient care and research are strictly interconnected. The Laboratory is the result of a complete integration between the clinical staff of the hospital and the staff of the Cardiovascular Section of the Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health of the University of Milan, so that today it would be impossible to separate the two components of the research group.

    Over the last twenty years, research conducted in the area of critical cardiology has enabled significant progress to be made with important clinical applications. Our strength is in team work.

    A complete integration of the Monzino staff and the Cardiovascular Section of the University of Milano

    In the Cardiopulmonary Research Laboratory of the Centro Cardiologico Monzino, patient care and research merge in a single work so that excellence in treatment and research are connected to each other. The Cardiopulmonary Research Laboratory is the result of a total integration of the Centro Cardiologico Monzino staff and the Cardiovascular Section of the Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health (University of Milano) staff so that it is now impossible to separate the two original components. The strength of the laboratory is the teamwork: cardiologists, nurses and researchers work together to achieve their objectives. Several junior researchers before, during and after their Cardiology Fellowship Program as well as some foreign researchers participate to the activities of the Laboratory. Several grants have been offered to and by the Cardiopulmonary Research Laboratory to allow external researcher to have a training or to spend a sabbatical period of time in our laboratory.

    → Go to the Scientific Report

Other Activities

  • Educational activities

    The clinicians in the Heart Failure Unit collaborate with the Section of Cardiovascular System Diseases, Department of Clinical and Community Sciences, University of Milan. The Unit accepts graduates specialising in Cardiology, providing the logistics and tutors necessary for the preparation of theses for both undergraduates and junior specialists. The doctors of the Unit also teach in the Specialisation School and participate in numerous training course on cardiopulmonary exercise testing in Italy, Europe and America. Finally, the Unit regularly welcomes clinicians from various Italian and foreign institutes, who visit the Centre for educational purposes.

    Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET)

    Under the endorsement of the University of California and later of CPX International/ISEIRE, each year a 3-day CPET course is organized in different European institutions (including Centro Cardiologico Monzino). In 2016 the European practicum was held again at Centro Cardiologico Monzino. Similar courses are organized in the United States, Japan and Australia. Since 1995 a 2-day CPET course, and more recently weeklong stages, have been organized by the Monzino cardiopulmonary researchers for Italian and foreign specialists with a bulk of around 1000 attendees. Moreover, Piergiuseppe Agostoni has an active role in international cooperation and specifically, through the support of the Corti Foundation, in cardiology teaching and cardiac patients care at St Mary Lacor Hospital in Gulu (Uganda) where he spends, starting from 1978, one month per year almost every year.

    National and international scientific activities

    Professor Agostoni is president of CPX-International, formerly known as ISEIRE (International Society for Exercise Intolerance Research and Education), which provides international lessons on cardiopulmonary exercise testing. National courses on the cardiopulmonary exercise test are also given.

    The Division participates in the production of numerous national (Italian Cardiology Federation) and international (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines on heart failure and on cardiopulmonary stress tests.