Valerio PelliniValerio Pellini was born in Figline Valdarno on 14 May 1951 and still resides there.

Currently retired, he is a founding member of AICARM Onlus and has been a member of the Board of Directors since the foundation of the association. He also carries out an intense volunteering activity in other associations.
Graduated in literature with a historical address, he was from 1996 to 2009 Director General of the Tuscany Region and from 2010 to 2014 Director of the Municipality of Florence.
He carries one Obstructive cardiomyopathy diagnosed over 25 years ago.
In addition to the activities carried out in the Board of Directors, Valerio deals with institutional relations with public bodies. Furthermore, he is particularly engaged in Aicarm in promoting a regulatory solution to simplify and standardize the process of issuing driving licenses for patients with cardiomyopathy. Valerio is a volunteer of the service Hearts Listening for which he offers his experience as a manager and as a patient with cardiomyopathy.

Message from the Vice-President on the occasion of the Association's assembly in March 2023

I am Vice President of AICARM and founding partner. In just three years of activity, two of which under lock-down, the objectives achieved and the successes have been many. We have become an association with a national dimension, with a dense network of international relationships; the shareholders have practically increased tenfold and we have a brilliant financial situation. The training has involved dozens of patients, information has literally exploded, thanks to the various campaigns we have launched, and thousands of people have interacted with our media. We have signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tuscany Region thanks to which we offer a support service to patients at the Cardiomyopathies Unit of Careggi and Meyer. 

There are still many things done and other members of the Council have talked about it at length. Among these we have faced a sore point in the life of many patients: the renewal of the driving licence. There is no uniform and consistent nationwide guidance on cardiomyopathies. The Tuscany Region has one of the most restrictive attitudes on the subject. In particular, those who have a defibrillator or a pacemaker can only have an annual renewal, even if the cardiologist, in the requested documentation, attests and proposes a two-year renewal. We asked the Tuscany Region why and we didn't get an answer. The only solution was to contact the ombudsman to open a dispute on the matter. We are waiting, but we do not stop. We are in contact with some parliamentarians to solicit a legislative intervention on the driving license that makes the procedures and rules of the game homogeneous throughout the national territory. 

We are fighting for the licence, but there are many aspects that disorient us patients with relatively unknown pathologies. Our work to protect rights will always be precise and meticulous. Seeing that we manage to break down walls of bureaucratic indifference gives us great satisfaction.

Aicarm is here for them.