On the first day of 2025, after a long battle with illness, Professor Marius Marcian Vintilă passed away. The announcement lands abruptly, crushing through its incomprehensibility and enormity.
Then comes the cold language of facts. Marius Vintilă was an outstanding student, a valedictorian, then an intern (part of the elite of the generations before the ’90s), later a specialist doctor, and a senior physician in internal medicine and cardiology. He climbed step by step through all levels of the academic hierarchy, from assistant to professor, as well as through the medical hierarchy, from specialist physician to senior physician in internal medicine and cardiology.
He trained and excelled at Colentina Hospital (which, for all of us, still bears the name of the founder of modern Romanian Internal Medicine, Academician N. Gh. Lupu), following the model of the school established by Professor Lupu and carried on by the brilliant personalities of professors Ioan Emil Bruckner and Simion Purice. He took over the Clinical Internal Medicine Department from Petre Harnagea and, in particular, the Cardiology unit, until he moved to St. Pantelimon Hospital (formerly 23 August), where he succeeded the late Professor Alexandru (Bebe) Ioan, another true medicine Master, as head of the Medical Clinic.
Professor Vintilă was hesitant about writing, and thus, the essence of his work is intangible, consisting of his incredible teaching talent and clinical acumen. And not only in university education but also, together with a quixotic group of enthusiasts and scholars, famously known as the “Four Aces”, he spread medical knowledge at all levels – from residents to specialized or super-specialized doctors. He was an unrivaled orator: suggestive, clear, and convincing. An era like a flame, unfortunately partially extinguished after the first decade of the 21st century. A continuer of Colentina’s glory, Professor Vintilă himself reached the podium of the Great Masters.
But beyond all, he was the Man… Marius (affectionately called Mariusică). We share five decades of friendship, of common aspirations but also controversies, ideals, because we were a generation with ideals in which we believed. A cultured, well-read man who was a great pleasure to listen to, whether or not you agreed with all his opinions. He would tell stories like no other about the geography of the world’s meridians, partly traveled together, and also about the geography and nature of his own country, which he loved passionately. The passionate Marius, who would get teary-eyed when speaking of Lancrăm, the place of his roots, connecting him to Blaga. This will be also his last residence on the Earth. The choleric Marius, who mostly played the role of being upset, as I rarely saw him truly angry. The optimistic Marius, who always knew how to share his optimism with others.
And now, one holiday day of a new year, he is gone, after 76 steps through life. But no, Marius, I will not say goodbye to you, nor even “farewell”, because you will always remain with us, in the memories of the golden years. And memories never die.
Prof. Emeritus G.A. DAN
MD, PhD, Dr.Hon.Causa, EFESC, EFAHA, FACC, EFEHRA
Emeritus Professor of Medicine (Cardiology & Internal Medicine)
Past-President: International Society of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy
Honorary Member – The Romanian Academy of Scientists
Honorary Member of the Romanian Society of Cardiology
Gold Professional Member – American Heart Association
Chief-Editor: Romanian Journal of Internal Medicine
Deputy-Editor – EUROPACE
Deputy Editor: American Journal of Therapeutics
President: “N.Gh. Lupu” Internal Medicine Foundation
Senior Consultant
Senior Researcher 1st dgr
University of Medicine “Carol Davila” – Bucharest, Romania