Angelo Auricchio

Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Unit

MD PhD

Fondazione Cardiocentro Ticino, Lugano, CH

Research areas

Biography

Personal History

Prof Angelo Auricchio was born in 1960 in Terzigno, southern Italy. He speaks Italian, English and German.⁴

As a teenager, he was fascinated by mechanics and electricity. “In my view, the heart and the circulatory system is a wonderful piece of machinery that is driven by an electrical system that is both uncomplicated and powerful,” he says.⁵

He enjoys photography, sailing and music and is married.

Academic History

Prof Aurrichio graduated from Medical School and specialised in Cardiology at Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples, in 1985 and 1989. He obtained a PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” in 1994. ^{2, 3, 4}

He completed internships at the Department of Microbiology and Department of Metabolic Diseases at the University of Naples in 1983 and 1985. From 1985 to 1986, he was an Internal Medicine Resident at the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Naples. Following this, he was a Cardiology Fellow in the Division of Cardiology, University Hospital, Naples in 1986 and at the University Hospital, Hannover in 1988.⁴

Prof Auricchio specialises in ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Career Overview

Prof Auricchio is the Director of the Clinical Electrophysiology Unit at Fondazione Cardiocentro Ticino, Lugano, Switzerland and Professor of Cardiology at University Hospital in Magdeburg, Germany. He is also the Immediate Past-President of the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). He is a world authority on the non-pharmacological management of heart failure and the use of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) and implantable devices in arrhythmias.¹

At the University of Magdeburg, Prof Auricchio was appointed as Assistant Professor in Cardiology in 2000 and Professor of Cardiology in 2008. He is the author of over 300 scientific articles and papers and a valued member of several prestigious societies. He has served as principal investigator of several important multicentre studies and international registries.³

He has about 10 currently active patents and applications, the most notable being the left ventricular pacing lead with an over-the-wire design; this lead represents the standard pacing technique for cardiac resynchronization therapy today.³

Prof Auricchio is co-editor of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy, Pacing to Support the Failing Heart, Cardiac Imaging for Diagnosis and Treatment of Electrical Disorder, Case Studies in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy and Clinical Cardiac Pacing, Defibrillation and Resynchronization Therapy. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology and EP Europace Journal.³

Career Timeline

1986 - 1988: Assistant Staff Physician, University Hospital, Naples
1988 - 1991: Assistant Staff Physician, University Hospital, Hannover
1991 - 1994: Attending Physician, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University Hospital Rome
1994: Visiting Physician, Ziekenhuis Aalst, Aalst
1994 - 2005: Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, University Hospital Magdeburg
2000 - 2006: Part-time Professor, Cardiology, University of Varese
2006 - 2012: Part-time Professor, Cardiology, University of L’Aquila
2006 - Present: Director, Clinical Electrophysiology Unit, Cardiocentro Ticino, Lugano
2008 - Present: Scientific Director, Fondazione Ticino Cuore, Lugano
2014 - Present: Co-Director Centre for Computational Medicine in Cardiology, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano
2015 - Present: Anchor Person Module 6 - Diploma in Advanced Studies in Cardiac Arrhythmia Management, University of Maastricht
2020 - Present: Deputy Head of Cardiology, Cardiocentro Ticino, Lugano
Present: Professor, Cardiology, University Hospital in Magdeburg
Present: Professor, Biomedical Sciences at Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano

Recognition

1991: Young Investigator Award of the North American Society of Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology
2005: Fritz Acker Award of the Germany Society of Cardiology for his breakthrough research activities in the field of cardiac resynchronization therapy
2016: Awarded a Degree Honoris Causa at Universidad de San Pablo Tucuman, Argentina

Areas of Speciality