Roundtable Discussion: Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology

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…

Dr Hein Heidbuchel is a Professor and Chair of Cardiology at Antwerp University, Belgium. He is also guest Professor at Hasselt University. He is President of the European Heart Rhythm Association (2018–2020).

Dr Heidbuchel worked as Research Fellow of the NIH and Fogarty International at the University of Oklahoma (1993–1994) and was Fundamental Clinical Investigator of the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders from 1996 until 2006. He started as Professor of Cardiology – Arrhythmology at the University of Leuven, Belgium in 1994. In October 2016, he became the Chair of Cardiology at Antwerp University.

Gerhard Hindricks is a professor of cardiology at the Charite University Hospital, Berlin, Germany. He heads one of the largest electrophysiology departments in Europe, providing services for up to 5,000 patients and performing almost 2,500 interventions for arrhythmias each year. Prof Hindricks is editor-in-chief of EUROPACE magazine, and is past president of the European Heart Rhythm Association, 2014 - 2016. 

Prof Hindricks is on the AER editorial board.

Josef Kautzner is Professor of Medicine at Charles University Medical School I in Prague, Czech Republic. A specialist in cardiology and electrophysiology, he is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology  and a member of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) and the European Heart Rhythm Association. He is also Chairman of the Working Group on Arrhythmias and Cardiac Pacing of the Czech Society of Cardiology. His clinical and research interests include prevention of sudden cardiac death, catheter ablation of different arrhythmia substrates and cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

Prof Kautzner is a member of the Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology Review editorial board.

Prof Pier Lambiase, PhD, FRCP, BMBCh, is a consultant cardiologist specialising in the treatment of heart rhythm disorders and pacemaker implantation. He graduated from Oxford University in 1992 and trained in cardiology at St Thomas’ and Hammersmith Hospitals. Following completion of a PhD in 2002, he undertook higher specialist training in electrophysiology and became a consultant cardiologist and senior lecturer at the Heart Hospital, UCL in 2006 and was promoted to reader in cardiology in 2012. 

He was the British Cardiac Society Young Investigator in 2002 and finalist in the North American Pacing & Electrophysiology Society Young Investigator competition in the same year. He was awarded the British Cardiovascular Society Early Career Award for his research in 2015 and elected Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society the same year.

Prof Lambiase conducts research into the causes and treatment of inherited rhythm disturbances, sudden arrhythmic death…

Prof Schilling has been a consultant cardiologist at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London NHS trust since 2001. He was appointed as chair in cardiology and electrophysiology in 2009. His current practice involves all aspects of electrophysiology and management of cardiac arrhythmia including catheter ablation, implantation of pacemakers and cardiac defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure patients.

Prof Schilling was part of the team that lead the merger of the Heart and Barts hospitals which is one of the largest heart centers in Europe. He is the Strategy Director for Barts Hospital, the Medical Director for the Arrhythmia Alliance and President-Elect for the British Heart Rhythm Society.

Prof Schilling is a member of the AER editorial board.