The Jury of the 2001 Edition awarded the Prize to Professor Giuseppe Mancia for his contributions in two major areas of hypertension: the study of cardiovascular reflexes, and the study of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and blood pressure variability.
Studying cardiovascular reflexes and the role of the sympathetic nervous system in hypertension, Professor Mancia defined the resetting of carotid baroreceptors in human hypertension and identified the role of left ventricular hypertrophy in the blunting of cardiac reflexes. Applying his approach to direct recording from sympathetic nerves in man, he showed sympathetic overactivity in obesity-associated hypertension, and clarified interactions between sympathetic and renin-angiotensin systems.
Professor Mancia significantly contributed to the application of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in research and medical practice. The jury mentioned as particularly relevant: the first demonstration of the white-coat effect - the rise in blood pressure induced by the doctor's measurement of blood pressure; the number of investigations on the role of blood pressure in organ damage associated with hypertension; and the epidemiological studies that developed the standard levels for ambulatory and home blood pressure measure.
Additionally, Professor Mancia contributed to establish standards of practice for the prevention and treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, as a member of several international organizations. Among them are the subcommittee on guidelines for the management of hypertension of the World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension; the European Society of Cardiology; the European Society of Hypertension and the European Atherosclerosis Society.