(Vienna, 02 January 2024) Daniel Zimpfer serves as the Chair of Cardiac Surgery (§98) at MedUni Vienna since the beginning of January 2024. He will also serve as Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna. His goals: "To make the Department of Cardiac Surgery an international leader in the cardiac surgical care of adults, children and adolescents with both acquired and hereditary heart disease through excellence in clinical practice, research and teaching."
To achieve this goal, Daniel Zimpfer will strongly emphasize patient-centered and individualized cardiovascular portfolio medicine. Prof Zimpfer intends to strengthen the clinical specializations of heart failure surgery, aortic surgery, arrhythmia surgery and surgery for congenital heart defects, in addition to established cardiac surgery procedures, such as coronary bypass surgery and surgery for structural heart valve disease. At the same time, focus will be placed on the further development and expansion of minimally invasive and catheter-based therapies. The department’s interdisciplinary collaboration within the Comprehensive Centre for Cardiovascular Medicine (CCVM) ensures individualized patient treatment at the highest level of university medicine in the context of cardiovascular portfolio medicine.
In terms of translational research, new cardiac surgery therapy methods and cardiovascular implants are developed by the CD laboratories based at the Cardiac Surgery Department and the Cardiac Surgery Research Laboratory. The clinical research area will continue to be strengthened through the consistent expansion of international networking and the establishment of a cardiac surgery clinical study center. In addition to the existing research structures, a "Centre for Heart Preservation and Regeneration" and a "Centre for Cardiovascular Device Development" are to be established.
The next generation of cardiac surgeons will be trained at the University Department of Cardiac Surgery. To this end, modern teaching and training concepts are applied, laying the foundation for a profound understanding of cardiovascular diseases and interventions in cardiac surgery. The use of simulation and augmented reality enables structured preparation for surgical activity.
About the person
Daniel Zimpfer studied medicine in Vienna and completed his specialist training in cardiac surgery and vascular surgery at MedUni Vienna. He holds an MBA in Health Care Management (Vienna University of Economics and Business) and completed postgraduate training at Harvard Medical School. From 2012, he served as Head of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Program and since 2014 he has been Head of Surgery for Congenital Heart Defects. In 2019, he became Professor of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at MedUni Vienna. In 2022, he became Professor and Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at MedUni Graz and is now returning to MedUni Vienna. Prof. Zimpfer is a member of numerous national and international professional societies, guideline committees and Chair of the EACTS Heart Failure Task Force.