Peter J. Schwartz - Bio
Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiology, Policlinico
San Matteo IRCCS, Pavia, Italy
Dr Peter J. Schwartz, MD, graduated in Medicine in 1967 at the University of
Milan (Italy).
He is Professor and Chairman of Cardiology at the University of Pavia, Chief
of the Coronary Care Unit at Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia (Italy),
Professor of Physiology andBiophysics at the University of Oklahoma (OK,
USA), Extraordinary Professor in Internal Medicine at the University of
Stellenbosch, South Africa, and Honorary Professor in Internal Medicine at
the University of Capetown, South Africa. From January 1999 to December 2000
he was the President of the Italian Society of Cardiology and from 1988
to 1992 the Chairman of the Working Group on Arrhythmias of the European
Society of Cardiology.
Dr Schwartz's main area of research has always been Sudden Cardiac Death,
from different angles including pathophysiology, risk stratification,
therapeutic approaches,
and genetic mechanisms.
Dr Schwartz has extensively investigated the relationship between the
autonomic nervous system and life-threatening arrhythmias. Beginning with
his first article in 1969 he has
contributed to the study of cardiac reflexes, has developed the concept of
sympathetic imbalance and has extensively studied the pathophysiologic
effects and the therapeutic
efficacy of left cardiac sympathetic denervation, which he has proved to be
a powerful tool for the prevention of ventricular fibrillation triggered by
sympathetic activation.
Dr Schwartz has pioneered the study of autonomic markers (especially
baroreflex sensitivity) for the identification of individuals at high risk
for sudden death.
His experimental findings of the early eighties have evolved in a landmark
prospective clinical trial (ATRAMI) involving 1,300 patients. This study has
provided the first evidence
that autonomic reflexes can indeed contribute to post myocardial infarction
risk stratification. His concepts and findings have paved the way for the
now innumerable studies on the prognostic value of autonomic markers.
For 35 years he has relentlessly investigated in detail the congenital long
QT syndrome (LQTS), of which he is regarded by many as the leading expert.
In 1979, in partnership with Dr Arthur Moss, he initiated the International
Registry for LQTS which - over 25 years of continued efforts - has
contributed to define the multiple clinical characteristics of the disease
and its natural history, and has made possible the identification of the
major disease genes by providing the molecular biologists with clearly
defined clinical phenotypes of affected and unaffected individuals from
large families. In 1980 he advanced the unorthodox hypothesis that some
patients affected by LQTS might have had a normal QT interval, thus
stretching to the limits the concept of phenotypic heterogeneity; almost 20
years later molecular studies by his own group proved the existence of "low
penetrance" in LQTS and confirmed his original hypothesis.
Dr Schwartz has recently contributed to the understanding of the relation
between genotype and phenotype in LQTS, providing the basis for the
development of gene-specific therapy and, with his partners, has just
identified the first genetic modifier for the clinical severity of LQTS. He
remains entirely committed to the elucidation of this unique disease
and continues to manage personally the patients affected by LQTS.
In 1976 he hypothesized that one of the causes of the Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS) could be a life-threatening arrhythmia due to mechanisms
similar to those present
in the long QT syndrome. To test the hypothetical correlation between
prolonged QT interval and SIDS he designed and initiated a prospective study
based on ECG recordings
in newborns, which was carried out without funding and lasted 18 years.
This study demonstrated that a QT interval prolongation in the first week of
life constitutes a major risk factor for SIDS. Subsequently, Dr Schwartz and
his research group provided
the first demonstration of the molecular link between LQTS and SIDS, which
represented the "proof of concept" for this relation. His most recent data
on 200 SIDS victims suggest
that LQTS mutations are present in approximately 10-12% of SIDS victims.
As these deaths could be prevented by therapy with beta-blockers, if early
diagnosis is made, the findings support the idea - championed by Dr Schwartz
for many years - of widespread neonatal ECG screening, another controversial
concept.
Over the years Dr Schwartz has received a large number of major
recognitions. In 1993 he gave the "Grüntzig lecture", traditionally offered
to a member of the European Society of Cardiology who has made special
contributions to Cardiology. In 1994 the American
Heart Association invited him to give the "Paul Dudley White International
Lecture",41 which is regarded as the greatest sign of recognition given to
non-American investigators.
In 1995 he became the 4th Fourth Gordon K. Moe Visiting Professor at the
Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Utica, NY in recognition of his
"outstanding contributions to science and medicine in the fields of clinical
and basic cardiology". On May 1999 he gave the keynote talk at the opening
plenary session of the 20th Annual Scientific Sessions of NASPE. In 2001 he
received the "Michel Mirowski Award" for his work on sudden cardiac death,
and on May 5 during NASPE's 22nd Annual Scientific Session in
Boston he received the "Distinguished Scientist Award 2001" for his
"contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of
cardiac electrophysiology".
Dr Schwartz is the only European investigator with uninterrupted funding for
his research activity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); his
first grant was funded in 1974 and the last goes through 2006.
Dr Schwartz serves the leading cardiology journals as a member of the
Editorial Board or as a reviewer. He is the author of more than 1100
publications including 346 original
articles, 12 books, and 141 chapters. His Impact Factor in the last seven
years was 734.
