Stefano Taddei was born in Pisa, Italy, in 1957. He attended the State University of Pisa, where he graduated in Medicine and Surgery in 1982 and specialized in Clinical Pharmacology in 1986.
Prof. Taddei is Professor of Internal Medicine. He works currently as the Director of the Hypertension Unit of the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
Prof. Taddei is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, the European, International and American Society of Hypertension, the European Society of Clinical Investigation, the High Blood Pressure Council of the American Heart Association, and of the Italian Society of Hypertension. He has been a councilor of the Italian Society of Hypertension (2007-2009).
He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology,Current Vascular Pharmacology, Current Hypertension Reviews, High Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Prevention and Journal of American Society of Hypertension. He is an International Associated Editor of the European Heart Journal.
His main research area is local neuro-humoral control of peripheral vessels in primary and secondary forms of hypertension, with particular emphasis on the sympathetic nervous system, the renin-angiotensin system and the endothelium.
He is also interested in the assessment of target-organ damage in hypertension, including vascular and cardiac structural alterations and the clinical pharmacology of cardiovascular drugs.
Prof. Taddei has participated in numerous clinical studies and is the authors of more than 350 original papers, reviews and editorials in international scientific journals (H index: 64; Impact Factor : >2154).
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Vascular reactivity in hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors
Pitfalls in the pharmacotherapy of hypertension Ryan J. McNally, Maisarah Amran, Albert Ferro, Carmela Maniero, Stefano Taddei, et al. Clinical Medicine Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London, 2026
Exhaled breath acetone: a non-invasive marker of disease severity across the spectrum of heart failure Nicolò De Biase, Silvia Ghimenti, Lavinia Del Punta, Denise Biagini, Alessio Lenzi, et al. Journal of Breath Research, 2026 Background. Increased exhaled breath acetone (EBA) concentrations might reflect impaired myocardial energetics and haemodynamic stress. We investigated the relation of EBA and cardiac structure, function, and exercise capacity in patients with or at risk of heart failure (HF). Methods. We enrolled outpatients with HF and reduced (<50%, HFrEF) or preserved (>50%, HFpEF) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and subjects with cardiovascular risk factors and/or structural heart disease without established HF. All participants underwent clinical and laboratory evaluation, resting transthoracic echocardiography, and a combined cardiopulmonary-echocardiographic stress test with EBA monitoring at rest (EBA rest ) and during exercise (EBA ex ). Results. Patients with HFpEF ( n = 62) were older and more often female than those at risk of HF ( n = 50) or with HFrEF ( n = 41). EBA rest (1.5, interquartile range (IQR) 1.0–3.1 vs 0.9, IQR 0.7–1.2 mcg l −1 ) and EBA ex (2.4, IQR 1.5–4.4 vs 1.1, IQR 0.9–2.1 mcg l −1 ; all p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in patients with HF compared to others. Among HF patients, those in the highest EBA rest tertile had lower LVEF, greater echocardiographic signs of congestion, higher NT-proBNP levels, and lower peak oxygen consumption, indicating impaired exercise capacity. In multivariate regression, NT-proBNP ( p = 0.0004) and the slope of minute ventilation to carbon dioxide production ( p = 0.0013) were independent predictors of EBA rest (adjusted R 2 = 0.458). Conclusions. EBA concentrations are higher in patients with HF compared to those without, regardless of LVEF, and are associated with markers of disease severity. Further studies are needed to determine whether EBA measurement can aid in HF diagnosis and management.
Hemodynamic and Metabolic-Inflammatory Phenotyping Across the Cardiac Index Spectrum in Moderate and Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation: Prognostic Implications Matteo Mazzola, Nicolò De Biase, Cristina Giannini, Alessandro Sticchi, Lavinia Del Punta, et al. Circulation Cardiovascular Imaging, 2026 BACKGROUND: Moderate and severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with poor outcomes, yet current grading systems do not fully capture circulatory heterogeneity. We investigate the relationship of cardiac index (CI) with rest-exercise hemodynamics, metabolic and inflammatory profiles, and clinical outcomes in moderate and severe TRs. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 300 outpatients with atrial secondary, nonatrial secondary, and lead-associated moderate and severe TRs without ≥moderate left-sided valve disease. All underwent comprehensive laboratory profiling and ultrasound evaluation at rest and during cardiopulmonary exercise. Patients were stratified by CI tertiles and followed clinically (primary end point: all-cause mortality or heart failure hospitalization). RESULTS: CI decreased with TR severity but showed wide interindividual variability. In patients with low CI, severe forward flow limitation was associated with more advanced right ventricle-pulmonary arterial uncoupling and biatrial dysfunction ( P <0.05 versus the other tertiles), identifying a hypodynamic-uncoupled profile. Conversely, high CI identified a hyperdynamic-congestive phenotype characterized by advanced congestion, reduced systemic vascular resistance, and heightened systemic inflammation, metabolic-nutritional derangements, and mitochondrial dysfunction ( P <0.05 versus the other tertiles). Intermediate CI showed the most favorable hemodynamic and laboratory profile. A U-shaped relationship between CI and adverse outcomes was observed, with the lowest risk at intermediate values. This pattern persisted across TR severity, cause, staging systems, and adiposity categories ( P <0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: In moderate and severe TRs, CI profiling captures cardiac and extracardiac determinants of flow and independently predicts outcomes beyond conventional TR grading and staging. Both low and high CIs identify high-risk patients, while an intermediate CI indicates a balanced, prognostically favorable state. CI profiling may refine risk stratification, guide individualized treatment strategies, and optimize patient selection and timing for tricuspid valve interventions.
Circulating miR-122-5p, miR-125b-5p, and miR-27a-3p in Post-Mortem Whole Blood: An Exploratory Study of the Association with Sepsis-Related Death Carla Occhipinti, Andrea Scatena, Emanuela Turillazzi, Diana Bonuccelli, Paolo Pricoco, et al. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 2026 Accurate post-mortem diagnosis of sepsis remains a critical challenge in forensic pathology, as conventional morphological findings often lack specificity. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proposed as stable molecular biomarkers, yet their diagnostic value in cadaveric samples is still unclear. This exploratory study investigated the expression of three candidate miRNAs (miR-122-5p, miR-125b-5p, and miR-27a-3p) in post-mortem peripheral whole blood to assess their association with sepsis-related death versus non-infective controls. Out of 58 cases, 45 met quality-control criteria (26 sepsis-related deaths and 19 controls). miRNA expression was quantified by qRT-PCR, normalized to miR-320, and analyzed using ΔCt values. Group differences were evaluated using linear regression models with adjustment for age, sex, and post-mortem interval, with Benjamini–Hochberg correction for multiple testing. In adjusted models, miR-125b-5p and miR-27a-3p showed evidence of association with sepsis status, whereas miR-122-5p did not. These results support the feasibility of miRNA quantification in post-mortem samples and motivate validation in larger, independent cohorts and within multimodal post-mortem diagnostic frameworks.
Hypertension in autoimmune rheumatic diseases – a position paper from the ESH working group on small arteries Eugenia Gkaliagkousi, Michael Doumas, Antonios Lazaridis, Carolina de Ciuceis, Claudia Agabiti-Rosei, et al. Journal of Hypertension, 2026 Clinical management of hypertension in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) is challenging. Firstly, the impact on blood pressure (BP) of several antirheumatic drugs varies and the available evidence points towards a wide range of effects. Secondly, management of hypertension in terms of diagnosis, BP thresholds and therapeutic targets currently follows the general recommendations, even though patients with ARDs present a markedly adverse cardiovascular profile. Thirdly, lifestyle interventions in terms of non-pharmaceutical management follow the general recommendations. Notably, it has been shown that they can improve autoimmune disease-specific endpoints, however, their intimate effect on BP has not been fully explored. Finally, the choice of anti-hypertensive medication currently complies with the general antihypertensive therapy recommendations, in the absence of appropriately designed studies in these populations. This review aims to summarize the impact of antirheumatic drugs on BP and present the available data regarding clinical management of hypertension in patients with ARDs.
