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A Conversation with Gilles Montalescot, MD, PhD
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For this issue, Dr. Bhatt talks with Gilles Montalescot, MD, PhD, professor of cardiology and head of the department of cardiology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, and Editorial Board member of Cardiology Today’s Intervention.
Montalescot received his medical degree from the H. Mondor Hospital in Paris and completed his fellowship at the F. Widal Hospital, Paris, and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Montalescot has served as the lead investigator of many national and international randomized trials, including ACCOAST, ADMIRAL, ARCTIC, ATLANTIC, ATOLL and STEEPLE, and has investigated many of the new drugs and interventional technologies developed during the past 15 years.
Currently, Montalescot is the chairman of both the ACTION Study Group and the stable coronary artery disease guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology. He is also a member of several editorial boards and has published more than 400 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Lancet and Circulation.
What are your hobbies outside of practicing medicine?
Dr. Montalescot: I like outdoor activities and play tennis on clay once a week, which I really enjoy. I also go jogging every weekend along the Marne River outside of Paris. During the summertime, I mountain bike in Périgord (in the center of France) and in the winter I go skiing in the Alps. It reduces stress and brings me back to the reality of movement and physical exercise. I enjoy the natural surroundings and take pleasure in the sensation of breathing fresh air in a natural environment — not in a cath lab without windows!
I enjoy also wine tasting and discovering all types of wines or vintages from various regions in the world. It is a pleasure I share with friends in a good atmosphere, with a good meal or sometimes with only a good plate of cheese.
Who has had the greatest influence on your career?
Deepak L.
Bhatt
Gilles Montalescot
Dr. Montalescot: I am the first medical doctor in my family and may be the last as my children have other ideas for their professional life! During my career, I have been influenced by several mentors: Pierre Yves Hatt, MD, who was the first professor of cardiology I met and was both a doctor and an excellent researcher; Pierre Godeau, MD, a fantastic clinician in internal medicine; Daniel Thomas, MD, who dedicated his life to prevention of atherothrombosis and had amazing relationships with his patients; and Warren Zapol, MD, who taught me how to lead a research program from the initial idea to the writing of the manuscript. I have also been influenced by my younger colleagues. In this regard, Jean-Philippe Collet, MD, PhD; Farzin Beygui, MD, PhD; and Johanne Silvain, MD, PhD, have each influenced my daily practice of medicine, even if they do not know it!
What has been the greatest challenge of your professional career thus far?
Dr. Montalescot: It was to build a team of excellent doctors and friends who are interested in clinical research, dedicated to academic work and ready to work overtime every day to reach the goals of high standards in cardiology. I created the ACTION Study Group (www.action-coeur.org), an Academic Research Organization, 10 years ago to help this group reach the ambition of having a leading center in cardiology at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital.
What area of research in intervention interests you most right now and why?
Dr. Montalescot: Probably the use of the novel antithrombotic drugs with the new interventional devices, such as bioabsorbable stents, transcatheter aortic valves and percutaneous left atrial appendage closure devices. The idea of combining the best of two worlds — highly curative technologies with new devices and techniques and highly preventive medicines with new drugs and strategies of treatment — is very appealing to me.
What advice would you offer a student in medical school today?
Dr. Montalescot: I would make him/her understand that to be a doctor is not a job: One day it is a passion and the next morning it is a curse. But beyond these good or bad days, treating patients with humility and expertise is the most beautiful thing that can happen to an individual who wants to live a valuable life.