Dr. Alberto Aimo graduated from Medical School at the University of Pisa and the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy. He is currently performing his Residency Program in Cardiology at the University of Pisa.

During his internship at the Fondazione Toscana Gabriele Monasterio (National Research Council) in Pisa, he joined the research team led by Prof. Michele Emdin. He had thus the opportunity to study several topics related to heart failure (HF), namely: biomarkers of HF, most notably natriuretic peptides and sST2. In particular, he contributed to the first two meta-analyses on sST2 prognostic value in acute and chronic heart failure; HF pathophysiology, with particular focus on the derangement of visceral feedbacks (chemoreflex, baroreflex, ergoreflex).

Increased ergoreflex sensitivity, deriving from skeletal myopathy, has been extensively characterized in HF. He demonstrated it also in patients with mitochondrial myopathy, and proposed it as a mechanism of reduced exercise tolerance and sympathetic overactivity, possibly contributing to the onset and progression of cardiac involvement in these patients.

Among his future research goals there are: a further characterization of sST2 as a biomarker of HF (for example, its value as a predictor of myocardial fibrosis, its correlation with age and renal function); mitochondrial modulators as potential therapies for HF (most notably anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy).

Derangement of visceral feedbacks; Ergoreflex sensitivity; Skeletal myopathy; Myocardial fibrosis.