Henri Bounameaux

Henri Bounameaux is a professor of medicine specialized in internal and vascular medicine (angiology), as well as general medicine.

Bounameaux served as the Dean of Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He is an emeritus professor at the University of Geneva and served as president of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) from 2020 to 2024.

Bounameaux's research interests relate to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of venous thromboembolism. His main contribution to the field relates to the non-invasive work-up of suspected pulmonary embolism, particularly the use of fibrin D-dimer. He was among the first scientists in the late eighties to suggest that this dosage in the patient plasma allowed to safely rule out venous thromboembolism, which was demonstrated in subsequent publications of the Geneva research group.

Early life and education Bounameaux was born in 1953 and spent his early childhood in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), living in Lubumbashi until 1967. His father Yves Bounameaux was Chief of medicine and Dean of the Faculty of medicine there.

After relocating to Switzerland at the age of 14, he pursued medical studies at the University of Basel, where he earned his medical degree in 1978.

Bounameaux completed his primary and secondary education in Lubumbashi (then Belgian Congo, later Zaïre) and obtained a Baccalauréat Type C in 1971 from St.-Louis, France.

He received his medical degree and post-graduate specialization from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, and is board-certified in internal and vascular medicine (angiology). He completed the post-doctoral education from Center for Thrombosis and Vascular Research, Belgium.

Career Following clinical training in internal medicine at hospitals in Basel, Montreux, and Geneva, he completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In 1985, he returned to the Geneva University Hospitals (Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, HUG), where he would spend the remainder of his clinical and academic career.

He was appointed assistant physician in 1988 and, in 1993, became head of the Angiology and Hemostasis Service within the Department of Internal Medicine at HUG, a position he held until 2016. From 2002 to 2010, he also served as head of the Department of Internal Medicine.

From 2010 to 2012, Bounameaux chaired the Council of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) after having organized its world congress in Geneva (2007).

He was named Honorary Professor of the University of Geneva in July 2019.

Research Bounameaux's research interests are broad and include studies in non-invasive vascular diagnosis, venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism, cardiology, angiology and hemostasis. His main contribution to the field relates to the non-invasive work-up of suspected pulmonary embolism, particularly the use of fibrin D-dimer. He was among the first scientists in the late eighties to suggest that this dosage in the patient plasma allowed to safely rule out venous thromboembolism, which was demonstrated in subsequent publications of the Geneva research group.

Bounameaux is known for his contributions to the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), with a particular emphasis on thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and the use of anticoagulants. His work has influenced clinical practice in the non-invasive diagnosis and management of thromboembolic disease.

Throughout his career, he has explored the implications of thromboembolism in cancer patients, surgical settings, and critical care.

From 2010 to 2021, Bounameaux's more recent work has focused on the clinical course of VTE in oncology, clot resolution dynamics following anticoagulation, and the management of right heart thrombi. His research during this period continued to integrate mortality risk analysis and treatment outcomes, often employing statistical tools such as hazard ratios and confidence intervals to inform evidence-based care.

Personal life In 1976, Bounameaux married Anne Carreau, M.Sc. (mathematics). President of the Swiss Society of Angiology Président of the Société d’Angiologie de Langue Française Chairman of the ISTH Council Distinguished Career Award from ISTH Honorary member of the Swiss Society of Angiology Honorary Fellow of the Swiss School of Public Health

Publications

Measurement of D-dimer in plasma as diagnostic aid in suspected pulmonary embolism. Diagnosis of pulmonary embolism by a noninvasive decision analysis-based strategy including clinical probability, D-Dimer levels, and ultrasonography: A Management Study Factor V Leiden Paradox: Risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis but not of Pulmonary embolism. Multidetector-Row Computed Tomography in Suspected Pulmonary Embolism. D-dimer for Venous Thromboembolism Diagnosis: Twenty Years Later. Oral Rivaroxaban for the Treatment of Symptomatic Pulmonary Embolism.