TEAM

The Cardiovascular Research Service of Lugano (SRC), founded in 1987 by Prof. Tiziano Moccetti and now fully part of Istituto Cardiocentro Ticino, has participated for a number of years – also as a Co-ordinating Centre for Switzerland – in multicentre randomized clinical studies conducted both at a national and international level.

The Service co-operates with the main pharmaceutical companies for the clinical testing of new pharmacological substances in different areas of cardiology: myocardial infarction, stable and unstable angina pectoris, heart failure, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, interventional cardiology, primary and secondary prevention of coronary disease and cutting-edge therapies such as the use of autologous stem cells.

Since the end of the 80s, the Service has participated in the most outstanding multicentric trials on acute myocardial infarction (ISIS and GISSI studies) and in conducting clinical studies of world importance, standing out as a reference centre in terms of number of patients enrolled and quality of the work carried out.

The presence of a centre actively involved in pharmacological experimental research within a hospital clinical structure ensures the difficult connection between scientific breakthroughs and daily clinical practice – in other words, the implementation of a correct “evidence-based medicine”.

The purpose is to guarantee patients a kind of medicine anchored to evidence provided by clinical trials – and thus of high quality – and to offer the benefits of a pioneering medicine, ethically and scientifically monitored, translating into the immediate transfer of medical advances into clinical practice.

Among the numerous studies carried out in the last five years – all conducted together with major international centres – the CHARM and EUROPA studies, leading to the definition of international guidelines on the secondary prevention of cardiovascular complications with drugs in cardiopathic patients, deserve special mention. Moreover, also in co-operation with other international institutions, we have focused on the use of cutting edge pharmacological therapies, such as the use of beta-blockers in heart failure (COMET and CIBIS studies) and the anti-thrombolytic therapy of acute coronary diseases (CURE and CREDO studies).
Active participation in research studies ensures immediate access to the results of an international trial and the ensuing adaptation to therapy, thus enabling the hospital structure to make real-time adjustments.