Research activities of Centro Cardiologico Monzino

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Centro Cardiologico Monzino is the only Institute of excellence in Europe exclusively devoted to cardiovascular diseases. Our mission s to develop research in the cardiovascular field:

  • providing an intellectual home and a critical mass of researchers who pursue translational research;
  • favouring the interaction between basic researchers and cardiologists and/or cardiac or vascular surgeons;
  • expanding this critical mass by educating teaching staff to translational research;
  • functioning as a point of contact for external investigators and agencies interested in pursuing translational research in the cardiovascular field.

With this frame, the Scientific Direction provides planning, directions and support to the different components of the Centre. The patient is always central in all activities of the Center and major efforts are directed towards the creation of the best conditions that guarantee the excellence in research.

At Centro Cardiologico Monzino, the research model foresees the constant interaction between basic and clinical research in everyday life with the objective to provide data and results that tangibly can be applied to patients.

To this end, 13 independent Research Units focus their activity towards solving major cardiovascular research problems in strict conjunction with the research developed by cardiologists and heart surgeons working at Monzino. Below is the list of our Research Units.

Research Units

Applied & Translational Research

Prevention & Epidemiology

​Clinical Research

During the last years, Centro Cardiologico Monzino has consolidated its scientific reputation, as testified by the increase in the impact factor and the number of publications. This has been possible thanks to the continuous integration between clinicians and basic researchers, whose activity has focused on the great questions of cardiovascular medicine.

In 2017, an international Advisory Board has conducted an in-depth critical review of the research and the clinical activities at CCM certifying the high quality level and outstanding international position of Centro Cardiologico Monzino.

The research programs facilitate training and research from proof of concept in cellular and animal model systems to new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches on the patient. This allows implementation of the translational feature of research and ultimately results in the development of a full model of translational medicine, spanning from prevention to interventional programs in the cardiovascular field.

The Research beyond the walls of the hospital

In recent years, the research at CCM has extended beyond the walls of the hospital. Alongside with clinical and translational research, CCM has developed Prevention, as it is now clear that "well-conducted prevention can save more lives than the development of new drugs". In this context, the prevention activities are in line with the World Heart Federation (WHF) and the European Heart Network. CCM participates to the WHO 25 by 25 program with the global goal of reducing non-communicable disease mortality by 25% by 2025.

The program of secondary prevention of global cardiovascular risk is still underway. In addition, in the field of primary prevention, the PROSALUTE program is operative, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan. It offers to all the citizens of Ponte Lambro district the opportunity to make a cardiovascular screening and to participate in educational programs that improve the prevention of cardiovascular diseases (stroke, myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, etc.).

This program, which includes physicians, research nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, etc., represents a model to be applied to other districts of Milan or other cities. The program is of extreme importance in a neighborhood that has a strong incidence of inhabitants belonging to different ethnic groups, with risk factors often not recognized yet.

New Projects for Prevention

Always in the context of the prevention, it is to be mentioned the new Monzino Sport Cardiology Center , which brings together the avant-garde skills and technologies present at CCM to make them available to athletes with the aim of allowing those who perform physical activity to do it safely. Finally, in this context, great space is given to the project on the similarities and differences of cardiovascular pathologies between women and men (Monzino Women Heart) with the objective of teaching women to take care of themselves. In Italy, cardiovascular disease causes the death of over 123.000 women each year. Our project intervenes in an area that is very well developed in the USA with the so-called Women Heart Centers (Cleveland Clinic, Cider Sinai) globally addressing the problem of female cardiovascular disease, from prevention to the clinic and research, with a cultural as well as a clinical project.

Italian Cardiovascular IRCCS Network

On the basis of indications of the Ministry of Health and in full synergy with other Italian IRCCS, Centro Cardiologico Monzino is leading the Cardiovascular IRCCS Network, a network that has the task of developing research inspired by the National Health Research Program. In this context, the Cardiovascular Network represents a complex and multidisciplinary reality, which includes 17 public and private IRCCS, and will be a privileged partner of the Human Technopole. The aim of the Network is to develop synergies in the cardiovascular field among IRCCS by pooling the available know-how and triggering a multiplicative effect for the achievement of macroscopic objectives.

Prof. Giulio Pompilio, Scientific Director