The Future of Our Hearts is in Rome
8 professors
75 physicians
277 healthcare staff (nurses and technicians)
22 researchers/consultants
12 administrative staff
800 cardiac surgery interventions/year
1,300 Cath Lab Percutaneous interventions/year (1,100 PCI, 150 Transcatheter structural intervention on valves and congenital defects and 50 carotid or peripheral agiioplasty
1,200 EP interventions/year (800 devices, extractions and loops and 340 ablations)
370 vascular surgery interventions/year (260 open, 110 endovascular)
5,191 Discharged patients/year
5,500 ECG monitoring or ergometric tests/year
15,000 ECHOs/year
20,000 Vascular echolodoppler/year
2,500 Cath Lab coronary angiography or catheterizations/year
400 EP invasive studies/year
Undergraduate medical training
Speciality training (surgical vs medical)
Fellowship training (surgical vs medical vs interventional)
Observership opportunities for specialist MDs
Continuing medical education
Surgical & interventional skills training
Professor Filippo Crea was born in Cosenza, Italy on 19 September 1953.
He graduated from Pisa Medical School with full honours in 1977 meanwhile passing the Postgraduate Boards in both Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Diseases, again with full honours, at Pisa Medical School in 1980 and 1983 respectively.
During the whole of 1984, he was Research Fellow at the Division of Cardiology of the University of Florida, directed by Professor Richard C. Conti.
From 1985 to 1991 he was Honorary Clinical Assistant and then Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant at the Cardiovascular Research Unit of the Hammersmith Hospital in London, directed by Professor Attilio Maseri.
He returned to Italy upon his appointment as Chief of the Catheterization Laboratory at the Institute of Cardiology of the Catholic University in Rome.
In 2000 he became Associate Professor of Cardiology and Chief of the Intensive and Sub-Intensive Care Unit.
In 2001 he became Professor of Cardiology, Director of the Institute of Cardiology and Director of the Postgraduate School in Cardiology at the Catholic University in Rome.
From October 2008 to January 2020 he was Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences.
Since February 2020 he is Director of The Cardiology Unit of Foundation Agostino Gemelli Hospital and Director of the University Department of Cardiovascular and Pneumological Sciences of the Catholic University of Rome.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and of the European Society of Cardiology, Past Chairman of the Working Group of Microcirculation and Past Member of the Congress Programme Committee of the European Society of Cardiology.
He is Editor-in-Chief of the “European Heart Journal” (2020) and past International Associate Editor of “the European Journal of Cardiology”; member of the Editorial Board of “Circulation”, “Clinical Cardiology” and “Revista Espagñola de Cardiologia”, and a past Associate Editor of “Heart” and past Deputy Editor of the Italian Heart Journal.
In 1992 he received from Professor Rita Levi Montalcini the Newburg Prize for his scientific contribution to cardiovascular research.
In 2013 he received the Arrigo Recordati International Prize for lifetime achievement in researching the pivotal role of microcirculation in systemic and organ diseases.
2015 delivered the 7th annual Robert L. Krakoff International Lecture in Cardiovascular Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University Medical School, Boston USA.
His main fields of interest are coronary microcirculation, acute coronary syndromes and stem cells. He is the author of more than 1.200 publications in peer-reviewed journals with an H-Index of 91.
Graduated from the University of Siena (1991), Prof. Massimo Massetti completed his specialization in Cardiac Surgery at the Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire of Caen in France. During these years, research was always a crucial component of his work, with many publications in prestigious international journals.
In 2007 he was awarded the “Victoires de la Medicine” award, for the best clinical scientific project in the field of cardiology for leading the “Resuscitation” project by coordinating multidisciplinary the construction of a clinical path of advanced cardiologic resuscitation of patients with cardiac arrest refractory to conventional treatment, resulting in more than 25% increased survival.
Prof. Massetti spent over two decades in France, during which time he gained numerous titles, reaching the highest achievable degree in France, namely that of “Diplome d’Habilitation à Diriger la Recherce” HDR.
In 2003 he was appointed "Maitre de Conference-Praticien Hospitalier (Associate Professor) and in 2007 "Praticien Universitaire-Praticien Hospitalier "de Chirurgie Thoracique et Cardiovasculaire (Full Professor of Cardiac Surgery) and was appointed" Chef de Service ( Director) of the Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantation at the University Hospital of Caen. During these years, the Professor diligently fills all the roles of clinician, researcher & manager and teacher.
He played an important role as a teacher in the INSERM unit of the Cyceron Center with the topic "brain and heart cell death" and clinically he developed and directed numerous translational research projects with direct application from bench-side to bedside.
In the didactic role, Prof. Massetti offered training at many different levels including medicine, specialization as school director, training courses and master's degrees as well as “Proctor” in teaching techniques of minimally invasive cardiac surgery and implantation of mechanical artificial hears.
He was invited by many European centres to guide the implants of artificial mechanical hearts and to implement the “Resuscitation” project.
In October 2005, he was invited by the University of Pavia as an Associate Professor of Cardiac Surgery and worked in the team of Prof. Vigano with the Transplant program and mechanical circulatory assistance.
In October 2009, Prof. Massetti was appointed Director of the Department of Heart Surgery and Transplantation at the University Hospital of Caen.
Over the following three years, the cardiac surgery program underwent significant "reengineering" of the treatment pathways, always positioning the patient at the centre, leading to an increase in the volume of activity and positioning the hospital as a centre of excellence and national reference.
In 2012 Prof. Massetti was invited to direct the Cardiac Surgery Department of Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli.
With the “Heart Team” philosophy and multidisciplinary dynamics, in a few years, he doubled the volume of activities, improving all quality and performance indicators, positioning the institution as a centre of excellence in the treatment of severe cardiovascular diseases.
Internationally, collaborations are fostered both clinically and scientifically with several institutions, including Johns Hopkins University (USA), University Hospitals of Minsk (Belarus) and St. Petersburg (MCS Russian Federation).
Since his return to Italy, Prof. Massetti has contributed to a profound reorganization of cardiological care pathways, focusing the multidisciplinary synergy on the patient and facilitating continuity of care.
In 2013 he created the association O.N.L.U.S. called "Donate Life with the Heart", promoting scientific research and helping populations in need. Prof. Massetti is currently Chief of the Cardiovascular Department and leading the Roma Gemelli Heart Project.
2013 – Clinical Care Pathways
2020 – Value-based pathway management innovation project
Integration of the Pathways with other departments including HR and IT to improve efficiency and clinical outcomes.
Surgery, diagnosis and minimally invasive technology.
Perfect synchronization - operating table + state-of-the-art cardiosurgical equipment + the laboratories of hemodynamics, electrophysiology and medical imaging diagnostic equipment.
In the same room, a state-of-the-art angiography unit with a robotic arm provides quick and easy access to the operating table. The simultaneous multidisciplinary activity involving different roles (heart surgeons, vascular surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists, hemodynamics specialists) explains the designation of “Hybrid Room”.
| Clinical Care Pathways In place & in progress | Discharged Patients 2020 | Ambulatory Visits 2020 | Disciplines to be involved in the multidisciplinary ambulatory of PCA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valvular heart diseases | 931 | 400 | Echocardiography, Geriatrics, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Electrophysiology other professionals as needed |
| Heart failure | 1009 | 600 | Cardiology, Cardio-rehabilitation / Physiatry other professionals as needed |
| Peripheral artery diseases | 403 | 800 | Internal Cardiovascular Medicine, Cardiology, Vascular Surgery |
| Aortic diseases | 373 | 800 | Vascular Surgery, Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery |
| Acute coronary syndromes (Stemi/Nstemi) | 206/209 | 400/250 | Cardiology, Echocardiography - other professionals as needed |
| Chronic coronary syndromes | 848 | 180 | Cardiac Surgery, Vascular Surgery and sometimes Anesthesia |
| Endocardites | 50 | 40 | Infectious Diseases, Cardiac Surgery and sometimes Microbiology and / or Neurology |
170 publications
5 grants
Cardiology Clinical Trials (41)
Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trials (9)
Vascular Surgery Clinical Trials (18)
In line with its "mission" of continuous improvement of quality and care performance, the Agostino Gemelli IRCCS University Hospital Foundation (Gemelli Hospital), thanks to the fundamental contribution of the Rome Foundation, has launched a project for the creation of a reference centre for the research, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases based on the principles of Value-Based Medicine and Organization, which places the quality of the care provided at the centre to patients throughout the entire process.
This project is innovative in all 3 levels of the vision: Clinical Care, Training, and Research.
Personalized care pathway to each patient, based on a multidisciplinary approach, integrating the flow of services to intersect with the patient while ensuring continuity of care post-discharge and in the outpatient setting.
This is based on the Value-Based model, focusing on clinical outcomes, while ensuring a smooth and efficient flow for the patient, within an eco-sustainable architecture, considering the environment, comfort and privacy of patients and families.
Gemelli Heart is the result of combining the following:
The Way Forward is by fostering international collaborations and partnership networks. Sharing a common goal of heart health can lead to achieving the highest standards of medicine, research and training, most efficiently.
International collaborations and network partnerships allow for the pooling of resources and concentrating them on creating THE cardiac centre of reference in terms of expertise, technology and infrastructure.
The Roma Gemelli Heart would be an institution proudly representing its global network of partners, standing as THE example of what international collaborations can achieve.
