On the hunt for better treatments for heart failure
Heart failure is a widespread and very serious condition. Through clinical studies and registry-based analyses, Gianluigi Savarese hopes to contribute to more personalised and precise treatments. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 8 October.
Text: Karin Tideström, for KI’s installation ceremony booklet 2026
Gianluigi Savarese’s research focuses on heart failure, one of the most common and serious cardiovascular conditions worldwide. Despite considerable advances, many patients still experience repeated hospitalisation, reduced quality of life and premature death.
By combining clinical studies with analyses of large patient registries and advanced statistical methods, Professor Savarese and his research group investigate how different treatments work, both under controlled conditions and in everyday healthcare.
The aim is to better understand how the disease develops and provide patients with more personalised and equitable care, helping them live longer and feel better while reducing the need for repeated hospitalisations.
“Our research has taught us a great deal about how heart failure can be prevented, diagnosed and treated,” he says. “It has also contributed to the development of new drugs and international treatment guidelines.”
About Gianluigi Savarese
Professor of Cardiology at the Department of Clinical Research and Education, Södersjukhuset, as of 1 June 2026
Gianluigi Savarese was born in Sorrento, Italy, in 1985. After receiving his medical degree from Federico II University of Naples in 2010, he specialised in cardiology in 2016 and completed his advanced heart failure training at the University of Zürich in 2017. In 2018, he obtained his PhD from Karolinska Institutet. He combines the post of professor with that of senior physician at Södersjukhuset in Stockholm. He is also the president-elect of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.