Dr Joseph Vincent De Giovanni

It is our sad duty to inform you of death of Dr Joseph Vincent De Giovanni, Joe to his friends.  He was born on 15th March 1949 in Malta. Joe qualified from his native Malta in 1973. He moved to UK in 1975 after the initial training posts in Malta. He joined the consultant staff of Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 1983. He was present for the birth of interventional paediatric cardiology and drove many of the innovations, which we take for granted now. He has also been at the forefront in introducing new techniques to the unit, such as transvenous pacing in 1981, blade septostomy in 1982, balloon angioplasty in 1983, myocardial biopsy in children in 1984, and electrophysiology studies in 1985. Since then, he has regularly introduced new techniques and technology to the unit.   

Jo was committed to help, teach and promote all the new techniques in many countries around the world, both developing and developed countries. He has contributed enormously to similar developments in his native Malta. He was awarded Order of Merit by the President of Malta in 1994 for setting up cardiac services in Malta and training staff. He was also made Visiting Professor of the University of Malta in 2013.  Jo was elected Scientific Secretary of the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC) between 2007 and 2012. He was a kind doctor who wanted the best for his patients. He invented techniques to treat conditions that previously did not have treatments. He was an inspirational mentor and generations of paediatric cardiologists are better for knowing him. He published his techniques and outcomes. As a busy full time clinician he has close to 200 publications with over 5000 citations, a track record many full time researchers would be proud of. He gave over 600 lectures at national and international meetings. He was highly respected by paediatric cardiologists all around the world and was invited regularly as a faculty member and speaker at conferences from USA to Europe to Africa to Asia and the Far East. Dr de Giovanni always gave his time selflessly in teaching practical interventional procedures, in particular in the developing countries, in order to bring their services up to modern levels. He made himself available to help them, whenever they asked for his help. 

He was awarded the PICS Achievement award in the USA as well as the Lifetime Achievement award by British Congenital Cardiac Association in 2015, and he became Honorary Member of AEPC for his contribution to the field of paediatric cardiology.  

 Over the last few years, he fought his terminal illness with great determination and fortitude. He was an extraordinary man and an extraordinary cardiologist. He sadly passed away peacefully on 8 May 2023. He was always a family first man and leaves behind his wife Josette and children (son Mark, daughters Claudia and Daniella). He will be terribly missed by all his family, friends and colleagues all around the world.

The Paediatric Cardiologists