‍Clinical Specialisms
Dr Giardini's clinical practice spans the full breadth of paediatric and adolescent cardiology, with particular depth of expertise in several areas.
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Congenital heart disease is at the core of his practice. He has extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of all forms of congenital heart defects, from simple conditions such as septal defects and patent ductus arteriosus through to the most complex structural abnormalities. He has a particular focus on children with single ventricle physiology and hypoplastic left heart syndrome, one of the most challenging conditions in paediatric cardiology, and leads a specialist survivorship programme for these patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
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Inherited cardiac conditions. Dr Giardini has signifcant nexperience having run specialist clinics for children and adolescents with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Giardini has also expertise in the assessment and management of other inherited cardiomyopathies, channelopathies (including Long QT syndrome) and connective tissue disorders affecting the heart and aorta, such as Marfan syndrome and Loeys-Dietz syndrome.
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Exercise physiology and sport cardiology is an area of longstanding expertise. Dr Giardini is the clinical lead for the exercise physiology laboratory at Great Ormond Street Hospital and has co-authored the European guidelines on physical activity and exercise training in children with congenital heart disease. He provides pre-participation cardiac screening for young athletes, individualised exercise prescriptions for children with known heart conditions, and specialist assessment of exercise-related symptoms including chest pain, palpitations and exertional syncope.
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Inpatient cardiac care is central to his NHS role. As Director of Inpatient Services at Great Ormond Street Hospital since 2007, Dr Giardini is responsible for overseeing the care of all children admitted to the cardiac ward and the cardiac high dependency unit for investigation and treatment of congenital or acquired heart defects. He works alongside a world-class surgical and interventional team delivering outcomes that rank among the best internationally.

Echocardiography
Dr. Giardini has advanced expertise in all forms of echocardiographic imaging, including transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography, tissue Doppler assessment and myocardiac strain imaging. Dr. Giardini is experienced in intraoperative echocardiography, both epsicardial and transoesophageal, providing real-time imaging guidance to the surgical team during critical moments of cardiac surgery. Dr. Giardini's research in 3D cardiac modelling has contributed to the planning of both interventional and surgical treatment of congenital heart disease. Dr. Giardini has also pioneered the use of 3D models as an education tool, helping young patients and their families to visualise and understand complex heart conditions and the procedures used to treat them.
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Research and Academic Contribution
Dr Giardini is a prolific clinical researcher with over 170 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals, including Nature, Science and Circulation. His research has focused on outcomes in congenital heart disease, particularly in patients with single ventricle circulations and Fontan physiology, tetralogy of Fallot, transposition of the great arteries, and the genetic causes of congenital heart disease. He has been a principal investigator in major collaborative studies with centres across the United States and Europe, and has received in excess of 100 million USD in research funding throughout his career, including significant grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
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He serves as a peer reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine and Circulation and holds a Senior Lecturer appointment at the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science. His research in exercise physiology has directly informed clinical practice, including the landmark European recommendations for physical activity in children with congenital heart disease and studies demonstrating the prognostic value of cardiopulmonary exercise testing in children with dilated cardiomyopathy and pulmonary hypertension.
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Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Dr Giardini is committed to the systematic improvement of care for children with heart disease. He is a certified patient safety officer and is involved in several quality improvement initiatives at Great Ormond Street Hospital. His philosophy is that standardisation and the rigorous measurement of outcomes are the foundations upon which improvements in paediatric cardiac care are built.
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Global Outreach
Beyond his London practice, Dr Giardini has contributed to paediatric cardiac care in underserved regions around the world. Through charitable surgical missions, he has looked after many children in sweveral countries including India, Libya and Kenya.