Research - Cardiology Service

Research by members of the Department is mainly channelled through the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), in the area of respiratory, cardiovascular and renal biopathology and bioengineering and the following groups:

The Department's research focuses, as a priority, on:

• Genetic cardiovascular diseases
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Ventricular Tachycardia
• Cardiac remodelling in athletes and the prevention of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest
• Molecular and vascular cell biology of genetically triggered thoracic aneurysms: Marfan syndrome
• Stem cell therapy in experimental models and in a clinical context
• Experimental models of neointimal hyperplasia, endothelialization, vascular inflammation and thrombosis
• Influence of hormonal factors, gender and ageing in ischaemic heart disease
• Experimental and clinical trials to assess the performance of new devices and strategies for treating heart disease
• New pharmacological and invasive treatments for pulmonary hypertension

The Department’s research is very broad, with some of the main lines being: Atrial fibrillation; Ventricular tachycardia; Cardiac pacing; Genetic diseases (cardiomyopathies and arrhythmic syndromes); Cardiac remodelling in athletes; Cardiac imaging; Mechanisms and treatments of ischaemic heart disease; Recovered cardiac arrest; Acute and chronic heart failure; and Pulmonary hypertension.

The Cardiology Department’s research funding has two main pillars: competitive calls for proposals, including those of the Catalan and Spanish governments and of the European Union, as well private foundations such as the La Marató de TV3 Foundation, the Catalan Cardiology Society, the Spanish Cardiology Society, and “la Caixa”, and collaboration with the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry in multicentre clinical studies.