Every two minutes someone in the UK has a heart attack. Heart and circulatory disease is the UK 's biggest killer with one in five men and one in six women dying from it.

To help find a cure for cardiovascular disease, the University of Bristol has appointed an internationally renowned cardiac expert, Professor Paolo Madeddu, Chair in Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, and his team of researchers.

Professor Maddedu, formerly a Professor of Internal Medicine at the Medical University of Sassari, Italy, took up his post earlier this year within the Bristol Heart Institute, Department of Cardiac, Anaesthetic and Radiological Sciences.

His research will focus on identifying the regulatory factors behind the development and growth of new blood vessels in tissues where circulation has been impaired by trauma or disease, such as a heart attack.

The growth of these new vessels is important for people that have had a heart attack, as they are responsible for the healing and recovery process.

Through identifying the factors responsible for the growth of these vessels, the research team hope to develop ways in which they can be used for treatment and curative purposes in the future, not only for cardiovascular patients but for vascular complications in diabetic patients too.

Professor Madeddu said: “Today, heart failure represents the major cause of hospitalisation in those aged over 65 and represents the number one killer in the UK. We strongly believe that new types of therapies including stem cell therapy will open new avenues for the cure of ischaemic heart disease. Bristol University offers the best facilities and environment for this type of research.”

Professor Maddedu qualified from the University of Sassari, Italy in 1976 with a degree in Medicine and Surgery. His research as a leading cardiac expert has taken him across the world to France, Germany, Japan the USA and now the UK. He is also a member of several prestigious societies, including the American Heart Association.