Agostoni, Piergiuseppe (Milan, Italy)

Professor Piergiuseppe Agostoni is a cardiologist and a researcher. He is Professor of Cardiology at the University of Milan. He is director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Program of the University of Milan. He is chief of the cardiorespiratory pathophysiology laboratory, head of the Heart failure Unit, and Coordinator of the Critical Care Cardiology Unit of Centro Cardiologico Monzino. He has authored over 800 publications, (> 300 in international journals with impact factor). He is president of CPX-International. He is a recognized international expert in the field of heart failure and cardiovascular research, for which he has won numerous awards.

Comin-Colét, Josep (Barcelona, Spain)

Director of the Cardiology Department of the University Hospital Bellvitge in Barcelona. Member of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology and Advisor to the Ministry of Health of the Government of Catalonia for organization of care of patients with chronic cardiovascular conditions. Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Barcelona. More than 200 invited lectures in courses, conferences and symposia nationally and internationally. More than 150 articles published in international journals of medicine and cardiology. Reviewer for several journals in cardiology in Europe and the United States. PI of several clinical trials and researcher at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL).

Fedele, Francesco
(Rome, Italy)

Fedele is Full Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Specialization School for Cardiologist of “La Sapienza” University of Rome, and Chief of Cardiology at the Department of Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Nephrology and Geriatrics Sciences at the “Policlinico Umberto I” Hospital. Fedele has been principal investigator in several International Clinical Trials and authored over 700 publications on national and international journals in research fields as cardiorespiratory pathophysiology, pathophysiology of ischemic heart disease, acute myocardial infarction, systemic and pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, echocardiography, and clinical pharmacological therapy.

Gustafsson, Finn (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Finn Gustafsson, MD, PhD (born 1968) is a professor of cardiology at the University of Copenhagen and medical director of the advanced heart failure, transplantation and MCS program at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark. His clinical training in advanced heart failure took place in Denmark and Toronto, Canada. His research interests include several aspects of heart failure pathophysiology and management. He is an author of more than 250 peer reviewed articles and several book chapters. Dr. Gustafsson serves on the steering committee of several international clinical trials and registries within the field of advanced heart failure. He is an associate editor for Circulation: Heart Failure and on the editorial board of European Journal of Heart Failure and Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Harjola, Veli-Pekka (Helsinki, Finland)

Veli-Pekka Harjola is Head of Division of Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Services of Helsinki University Hospital. He is also Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Helsinki. He is author of 160 PubMed-listed papers and active member of the acute heart failure working group in ESC/Heart Failure Society. Veli-Pekka is also Vice President of the Finnish Society of Emergency Medicine and the Finnish Angiology Society. He is Fellow of the ESC and HFA. His expertise field in cardiology is heart failure and research interests are acute heart failure and venous thromboembolism. Veli-Pekka acts as the Principal Investigator of European multicentre study on cardiogenic shock, the CardShock Study.

Parissis, John
(Athens, Greece)

John Parissis is Associate Professor of Cardiology in the Second Department of Cardiology of Attikon General Hospital, University of Athens. He is head of ER of University of Athens. He is a fellow of the European Society of Cardiology and member of the ESC Heart Failure and Acute Cardiac Care Associations. He was member of the ESC committee for the national working groups or national societies on heart failure as well as member of the Task Force for Curriculum Heart Failure of the ESC Heart Failure Association. He is co- chair of the committee of acute heart failure of ESC HF association. Dr. Parissis has published 290 articles in Cardiology peer-review international journals. He is reviewer in 30 cardiology international journals including NEJM, Lancet, Circulation, JACC and European Heart Journal.

Pölzl, Gerhard (Innsbruck, Austria)

Professor Gerhard Pölzl is Chief of the Heart Failure and Heart Transplant Program at the Medical University Innsbruck. His research has focused on clinical studies in advanced and chronic heart failure and on translational studies in cardiomyopathies. He has been Principal Investigator of the LevoRep clinical trial that tested the efficacy and safety of pulsed infusions of levosimendan in outpatients with advanced heart failure. He is currently P.I. of the clinical trial LEODOR, on repetitive use of levosimendan in advanced heart failure.

Tschöpe, Carsten
(Berlin, Germany)

Carsten Tschöpe is professor of Medicine and Cardiology and Vice Director of the Dept. of Cardiology, at the Campus Virchow Clinic (CVK) at the Charite, Berlin, guiding the Cardiomyopathy program. He is the recipient of the 1 st Research Prize of the Benjamin Franklin University Clinic and of the Arthus Weber Price of the German Society of Cardiology. He has been principal investigator in 8 clinical trials and published over 330 scientific articles (with an h-index over 68) including some patents.

Recio-Mayoral, Alejandro (Sevilla, Spain)

Alejandro Recio-Mayoral, MD, bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Seville.

Clinical cardiologist, tutor in charge of training Cardiologist and director of the Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Unit at the department of Cardiology of Virgen Macarena University Hospital in Seville. Active in the research fields of Inflammation and microvascular dysfunction, and Frailty and Acute Coronary Syndrome in the elderly.

He contributed to opinion papers on the Repetitive use of levosimendan in advanced heart failure and on the role of levosimendan in acute heart failure complicating acute coronary syndrome.

Yerly, Patrick (Lausanne, Switzerland)

Dr Patrick Yerly is consultant in the unit of advanced heart failure of the Lausanne University Hospital, which is the transplant center for the French speaking part of Switzerland. He is also in charge of pulmonary hypertension. After a first graduation in internal medicine, he completed his education in general cardiology in Lausanne with a special interest for heart failure. He then spent a 2 years fellowship at the Erasme Hospital of the free University of Brussels in Belgium by Prof R Naeije and JL Vachiéry to extend his knowledge and experience in hemodynamics. His research field is about heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.

Zima, Endre (Budapest, Hungary)

Associate Professor Zima is the head of Cardiac Intensive Care Unit of Heart and Vascular Centre of Semmelweis University. After achieving his MD degree in Semmelweis University he got his and a specialty in anesthesiology, intensive care medicine, and cardiology.

Dr Zima signed over 11 book chapters, 101 papers, edited 1 book. He has cumulative impact factor 129,176 and has 391 independent citations, with H-index 12, g-index 18.

He has an Accreditation of EHRA on CPG&ICDs, he is accredited AALS Instructor of ERC. He is Fellow of ESC, member of EHRA, ACCA, and is Board Member of Hungarian Society of Cardiology, WG on Cardiac Pacing, WG of Heart Failure of HSC.

Fields of interest: intensive cardiac care, CPR and PCAS, heart failure, device therapy of arrhythmias, defibrillator waveform& AED development.