Dr.
ANDREA PONCHIA
Medical Cardiologist. Specialist in Sports Medicine.
Dr. Andrea Ponchia graduated in Medicine and Surgery, with Specializations in Cardiology and Sports Medicine from the University of Padova.
He served as the head of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Service at the C.S.S. dei Colli of the ULSS 6 Euganea Healthcare Unit. He has also worked as a Level I Medical Director at the Cardiology Clinic of the University Hospital of Padova, focusing on echocardiography and sports cardiology, specifically high-altitude cardiovascular physiology and the behavior of cardiac patients in mountain environments.
He has served as a Level I Medical Director at the Cardiology Service of the Civil Hospital of Dolo (Veneto) and as a lecturer for the International Advanced Course in “Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology applied to Physical Exercise and Sport” at the C.O.N.I. School of Sport in Rome.
He has collaborated with the Regional Center for Sports Medicine in Padova, where he conducted research on cardiovascular adaptations to physical exercise in children and during high-altitude exposure.
He has attended and collaborated with the Chair-Division of Cardiology at the University of Padova, specializing in echocardiography and ergometry. In this field, he has explored recent methodologies such as ergospirometric functional assessment, and stress and transesophageal echocardiography, contributing to numerous papers published in national and international journals.
- Lecturer for the course “Functional Assessment and Cardiac Rehabilitation” in the Neurophysiopathology Techniques degree program at the University of Padova for the 2010-11 academic year.
- Member of the Central Medical Commission of the Italian Alpine Club from 1991 to 2005, serving as President from 1997 to 2005.
- Member of the National Alpine Rescue Corps as a physician from 1987 to 2000.
- Scientific Director for the Targeted Healthcare Research (Veneto Region) on “Cardiovascular risk during physical activity in the mountains.”
- Lecturer and Member of the Scientific Committee for the Advanced Training Course in Mountain Medicine at the University of Padova since its establishment in 1994, also managing the Organizing Secretariat.
- Lecturer for the Master’s program in “Prevention and Emergency in Mountain and High-Altitude Territory” for Nursing and Prevention Technician degrees at the University of Padova.
- Lecturer for the Master’s in Sports Cardiology at the University of Padova.
- Scientific-Mountaineering Expeditions: Participated in expeditions to India, Pakistan, and Nepal, including the Everest-K2-CNR project. This research has been published in national and international journals and presented at conferences.
- Founding Member and Past President (2005-2008) of the Italian Society of Mountain Medicine.