Günter Breithardt (born 19 January 1944 in Haan/Rhineland) is a German physician, cardiologist and emeritus university professor. He is known for his research results in the field of rhythmology, especially the diagnosis and pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy of cardiac arrhythmias and acute cardiac death, in particular also the identification of arrhythmia-triggering gene mutations. For 21 years he headed the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic C (Cardiology, Angiology, Intensive Care Medicine) at Münster University Hospital. A number of his academic students occupy university management and chief physician positions.

Career

From 1963 to 1968 he studied human medicine at the universities of Tübingen, Vienna and Düsseldorf. With the thesis "Autohistoradiographic studies on the incorporation of H-3 leucine into hypertrophied heart muscle after swimming training"^[1] at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Düsseldorf, Breithardt was awarded his doctorate in 1969. He received his licence to practise medicine in 1970. He did his military service in 1971 as a staff physician at the Institute for Military Medicine and Hygiene in Koblenz.^[2] Breithardt is married to a Norwegian woman and has a son and a daughter who - in human and veterinary medicine respectively - also specialise in cardiology.

Professional life

From 1970, Breithardt worked as a research assistant, first at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Düsseldorf under the direction of Hubert Meessen, and from 1971 at the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic under the direction of Franz Loogen, the doyen of German cardiology. He was recognised as a specialist in internal medicine in 1976 and in cardiology in 1977. In 1978 Breithardt habilitated with a thesis on "Clinical electrophysiological investigations of sinus node function"^[3] and became a senior physician at the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic B of the University of Düsseldorf. In 1982 he was appointed professor (C3 for a limited period) at the University of Düsseldorf. There he headed, among other things, the Electrophysiology Laboratory of the Clinic for Cardiology, Angiology and Pneumology. In 1984 he was appointed professor for life (C3). In 1988 he followed a call to the University of Münster, where he was appointed Professor for Life (C4) and Director of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic C (Cardiology and Angiology, including Internal Intensive Care Medicine). In 1991 he also took over as head of the "Coronary Heart Disease" department (later Molecular Cardiology) at the Leibniz Institute for Arteriosclerosis Research at Münster University.

Scientific activity

Breithardt's research focuses on clinical electrophysiology, arrhythmia diagnostics and therapy, molecular genetics of arrhythmias, mechanisms of heart failure and of arrhythmias and acute cardiac death, mechanisms of re-stenosis as well as arteriosclerosis.

Initially, he conducted electron microscopic and histoautoradiographic studies on organ preservation at the Institute of Pathology of the University of Düsseldorf in collaboration with the Department of Applied and Clinical Pharmacology (Prof. M. Siess) of the Philipps University of Marburg. [4] After moving to Franz Loogen's clinic towards the end of 1971, Breithardt was increasingly involved, together with his mentor LudgerSeipel[5], in the developing field of clinical electrophysiology. He became a leader in the study of sinus node function. Breithardt was one of the pioneers of signal-mediated electrocardiography and developed a comprehensive programme of electrophysiological mapping. His group - together with cardiac surgeons - established one of the largest cohorts of patients undergoing surgery for life-threatening ventricular tachycardia. [2] He has co-edited four editions (1993, 2003, 2009 and 2013) of the standard work Cardiac Mapping for the localisation diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias. His pioneering clinical achievements include the world's first catheter ablations of AV conduction and a right-sided accessory pathway with an "incessant" supraventricular reentry tachycardia using radiofrequency current in 1986 in Düsseldorf with the HAT 100 generator developed by Peter Osypka, which allowed a reproducible dose-response curve. This used a catheter with continuous irrigation to prevent clots or overheating of the catheter tip, which later became a standard. [6] The method of ablation using radiofrequency current is now considered standard therapy. [7] Two years earlier, in 1984, he had already been the first in Germany to use an implantablecardioverter defibrillator (ICD) - together with the heart surgeons of the University of Düsseldorf. [8] Five years later, in 1989, it was his research group that was the first in the world to implant a 3rd generation ICD. [9] Under his leadership, a research programme was initiated at the University of Münster that specifically addressed the mechanisms of arrhythmias and heart failure and included molecular genetics and a variety of animal models from mice to rabbits in vivo and ex vivo. [2] His research group was involved in the consortium that identified the first gene mutations for Brugada syndrome, described the first mutation responsible for sinus node disease and identified plakophilin-2 as the most common mutation underlying arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. [10] Breithardt's commitment to young scientists is recognised. [11] He has promoted young doctors with potential in his clinic. [12] More than 20 of his academic students are in university management and chief physician positions. [9][13] At the University of Düsseldorf, Breithardt was a member of the DFG Collaborative Research Centre SFB 30 Cardiology and co-founder and deputy spokesperson of the subsequent Collaborative Research Centre 242 "Complications of Coronary Heart Disease", including Sudden Cardiac Death, later in Münster founder and spokesperson of SFB 556 "Heart Failure and Arrhythmias - from the Molecular Basis to the Clinic" (1999-2003)[14], co-founder of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research (IZKF) and deputy chairman of the BMBF-funded multicentre CAD-REF Registry to record patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic kidney disease. Chairman of the BMBF-funded multicentre CAD-REF registry for the registration of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and chronic kidney disease. [15] Breithardt is a founding member and was chairman of the Atrial Fibrillation Competence Network (AFNET), an internationally recognised research platform on atrial fibrillation, from 2003 to 2015[16]. AFNET was funded by the BMBF until 2014 as part of the Competence Networks in Medicine[17]; since then it has been an independent academic research platform, which has been cooperating with the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) since January 2015. [18] Through seven international consensus conferences, AFNET, together with partner EHRA, has contributed to the direction of international research in this field. [19] Breithardt and his group have acquired third-party funding, the Peter Lancier Endowed Professorship,[20] the Peter Osypka Endowed Professorship,[21] an Endowed Professorship "EMAH" from the Fördergemeinschaft EMAH[22] and a Priority Professorship Molecular Genetics of Myocardial Diseases from the state of NRW,[23] which have enabled the establishment of a multi-unit clinic at Münster University Hospital with independently managed focal areas Cardiology I (incl. intensive care and angiology), II and III, as well as the Institute for Genetics of Heart Diseases and the Cardiac MRI Centre.