Prof. Alberto Zangrillo

Prof. Alberto Zangrillo is Professor of Anaesthesiology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Head of the Cardiac Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Department at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan — one of Italy's and Europe's most prestigious private academic hospitals. With over 30 years of clinical and research experience, Prof. Zangrillo is internationally recognised as one of the world's leading experts in cardiac anaesthesia and perioperative critical care. He has led major multicentre European clinical trials addressing anaesthetic cardioprotection, haemodynamic management in cardiac surgery, and critical care outcomes. Ospedale San Raffaele's cardiac surgery programme is among the highest-volume and best-outcomes programmes in Italy, and Prof. Zangrillo's anaesthesia and ICU leadership is a central pillar of this programme's excellence. He approaches each cardiac surgical case as a comprehensive perioperative challenge requiring individualised anaesthetic strategy, intraoperative haemodynamic management, and postoperative critical care.

Prof. Zangrillo completed his medical degree (MD) and anaesthesia specialty training in Italy, subsequently earning a PhD in anaesthesiology or perioperative medicine. He pursued advanced fellowship training in cardiac anaesthesia at leading international centres. He was appointed Full Professor at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan — the private university associated with Ospedale San Raffaele — where he leads the anaesthesiology academic programme. He holds specialist board certification in anaesthesiology and intensive care in Italy and is a member of the European Association of Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EACTAIC).

Prof. Zangrillo's clinical expertise centres on anaesthesia for all types of cardiac surgery — coronary artery bypass grafting, valve surgery, aortic surgery, and transcatheter structural heart procedures (TAVI) — combined with postoperative cardiac intensive care. His particular research interest is in anaesthetic cardioprotection: using volatile anaesthetic agents or pharmacological conditioning strategies to protect the heart from ischaemia-reperfusion injury during cardiac surgery. He leads a high-volume ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) programme supporting patients with severe post-cardiac surgery cardiorespiratory failure. His team manages some of Italy's most critically ill cardiac surgical patients, including refractory cardiogenic shock and severe low-output syndrome.

IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele is one of Italy's leading private scientific hospitals and treats international patients from Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. The hospital's cardiac surgery programme — and therefore Prof. Zangrillo's anaesthesia and ICU services — is accessible to international patients who choose San Raffaele for their cardiac surgical care. Milan is Italy's most internationally connected city, with Malpensa Airport (50 minutes from the hospital) and Linate Airport (15 minutes) providing excellent connectivity from Europe and globally. English is widely spoken in the hospital's international services. Consultation enquiries can be directed through San Raffaele's international patient office.

Prof. Zangrillo is one of the most published cardiac anaesthesiologists in Europe, with over 500 peer-reviewed publications in journals including the Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine (correspondence), Critical Care Medicine, and the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia. He has been Principal Investigator on several landmark European multicentre trials including DOORS, MYRIAD, and others investigating anaesthetic management strategies in cardiac surgery. He has received the EACTAIC Award for Research Excellence and has delivered plenary lectures at ESA (European Society of Anaesthesiology), EACTAIC, and ASA (American Society of Anesthesiologists) annual meetings. He is editor or associate editor of leading anaesthesiology journals and is a highly cited author in perioperative medicine.