Professor Nick Curzen has just been appointed to the position of Deputy Medical Director for Invited Reviews at the Royal College of Physicians. Nick has high clinical and governance standards and is an excellent choice for this prestigious post.

In January 2025 Wessex Cardiology performed the first two TAVI procedures at Southampton Spire. Dr John Rawlins (TAVI lead) and Dr Simon Corbett both did the first two implants, which went well and both patients are doing very well. Dr Rawlins has worked hard with the team to establish this new service at Southampton Spire, which will be one of the few new TAVI units in England in 2025. We can now offer this procedure, in suitable patients for both self-paying and insured patients (with pre-authorisation).

We are delighted to announce that Michael Mahmoudi was award a personal chair from the University of Southampton in July 2024. Congratulations to Professor Mahmoudi.

After many years as a consultant Cardiologist at Wessex Cardiology Dr Alison Calver has finally decided to retire from private practice. Alison stopped private practice in July 2022. She is continuing a small amount of part time NHS work doing clinics and MDTs but no longer doing private practice. We wish Alison all the best in her retirement,

Andrew Flett has secured charitable funding to conduct a study looking at the effects of Entresto, a new revolutionary heart failure drug, on the heart using an MRI scan. The research led by Dr Flett will help our understanding of this condition and how to treat it. See the attached press release for more details.

As of the beginning of April 2021 Wessex Cardiology clinics have resumed as normal and we are regularly seeing patients face-to-face. If you would prefer then either telephone and online consultations may be available depending on your consultant, please do enquire if interested. From mid May 2021 we have been able to resume exercise treadmill tests, although capacity is reduced due to COVID guidelines. All other non-invasive services including echo and monitoring are now running.

Please note that Southampton Spire Hospital will be closed between Christmas and New Year this year. During this closure we cannot run any clinics or lists. All emergencies should go through the NHS, as is usual for Cardiac emergencies. Wessex Cardiology office will be closed from 5pm on 23 December until Monday 3 January. We will be answering the calls we can and taking booking for the 2021 clinics, which restart on January 3, on the two days before New Years Eve. Happy Christmas to all and thank you for your understanding.

Unlike the first lockdown the government is keen that hospital activity and appointments for non-COVID related conditions is maintained at the highest capacity that it is safe, for each hospital. Southampton Spire has confirmed that outpatients tests (eg echos and cardiac monitors) and consultations may continue as normal. Southampton Spire has worked hard to provide one of the safest clinical environments for such services.

• You will be checked for symptoms and have your temperature checked at the door before you are allowed in.
• If you are unwell (cough, loss of smell, symptoms of cold/flu) and/or have a fever please do not attend but let us know so we can safely reschedule your appointment.
• Social distancing including: hand gel/hygiene and wearing of masks at all times is expected during your visit to the Spire.
• There are appropriate safety measures such as screens at the outpatient reception and safely spaced waiting seats in the outpatient area.
• Capacity for tests and clinic appointments is understandably reduced to allow thorough cleaning between patients and minimum risk of infection,

​Should you have tests and/or an outpatient consultation at the Spire you can rest assured this is conducted in the safest way possible. If you have any concerns or questions our secretaries would be happy to discuss these with you.

Please note that with sickness and increased demand our office team are busier than ever. So we would ask you please respect this and do not leave multiple messages. Our team will always respond to your enquiry in a timely way. If a GP referral and details are needed from your GP it is your responsibility to call your own practice and obtain this. We thank you for being courteous to our office staff at all times.

As of September face-to-face outpatient clinics have started to resume at the Spire and we hope to catch up with a long backlog of people needing tests and consultations. Sometimes clinic appointments can be equally effective over the phone. Please discuss these options with our staff if you need to be seen. If you are being seen in the Spire you will need to follow the strict instructions provided on rules for coming to the hospital.

After many years Iain Simpson, a founding partner of Wessex Cardiology, has decided to retire from private practice. As of April 1 2020 he is no longer seeing private patients. One of our other Wessex Cardiology partners will be happy to continue your care if you were a patient of Iain's. We wish Iain all the best in retirement and hope he enjoys more family time.

During the summer of 2020 Jane Robson, who has worked as a secretary since 2010 also resigned. Jane looks forward to spending more time with her family and Wessex Cardiology wish her all the best for the future.

Please note we can offer telephone consultations to our patients but not face-to-face clinical outpatient clinics or any tests at present. The Spire is currently only providing urgent NHS inpatient care. See more information here.

Please see our advice page about Coronavirus and Wessex Cardiology services here.

We are delighted to announce Professor Curzen has been announced as the new President elect of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society

You will all be aware that as of 25 May 2018 all companies must be fully compliant with the new GDPR laws. Further information can be found on our GDPR page here. Wessex Cardiology are fully compliant with all these regulations. All Wessex Cardiology patients will shortly receive a letter and consent form with your preferences, which must be completed in order for us to be able to contact you by any means, with the exception of postal letter. We apologise for any inconvenience due to this extra paperwork but hope you understand it is mandatory and for the protection of your data privacy and rights.

Dr Paul Haydock joins Wessex Cardiology as a partner in March 2018. Paul is highly experienced in all aspects of heart failure and the insertion of complex pacing devices. Paul is also EHRA certified in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices.  Paul's NHS practice is predominantly at Southampton. Privately Paul will see patients in the Winchester area, at the Nuffield health Wessex hospital and at Southampton Spire.

Please note Wessex Cardiology are fully compliant with the CMA requirements to send all patients a letter prior to their first appointment. This is to state the fees we receive, terms and conditions and any declaration of financial interest we have related to our private practice. This has been our practice since the start of December 2017, it was a mandatory requirement from 31 December 2017.

Dr Flett has just published a review on Cardiac MRI scanning and heart failure, which you can read here.

In October there was strong faculty representation from University Hospital Southampton with Professor Nick Curzen, Dr James Wilkinson and Dr Melli Mahmoodi all givingstrong-uhs-faculty-at-tct.html talks at this major international meeting in Denver Colorado, USA.

Dr Wilkinson commented on BBC Radio Solent on new NHS England plans to make widespread blood pressure testing available, see here for details. Dr Wilkinson stated that 'Whilst he fully supports more easy access to blood pressure checks he does not think this should be done by the fire service or teachers, who are busy enough already! Ideally this better would be through machines made easily available to the public e.g. in all GP practice receptions, pharmacies, supermarkets and other such public places. The plans would also need resources to educate the public about what to do if blood pressure is raised and to enable GP surgeries to cope with increased demand to deal with this.'

​Dr James Wilkinson does "cardiac clinic" on Sasha Twining show on BBC radio Solent on May 31, answering questions from listeners about various cardiac conditions. You can listen to this discussion on various conditions, including treatment of heart attacks and stents, until Friday 30 June by clicking here.

Read article in Southern Evening Echo where Professor Curzen discusses new heart scan technology, which could revolutionise treatment of heart disease. See here.

Dr John Rawlins, a consultant interventional cardiologist, officially joins Wessex Cardiology on 1st April 2017. John has expertise in cardiomyopathy, sports cardiology and screening athletes hearts. John completed a research degree with the world famous Sanjay Sharma at King's College Hospital, London. John is also a TAVI operator and has an interest in complex coronary intervention. You can read more on his profile page here.

On 14th March 2017, at University Hospital Southampton, Dr Flett inserted a new implantable heart rate monitor into the first patient in the UK to have one of these devices outside of a clinical trial. See local news coverage by clicking here. Listen to local radio about this 41 minutes into local BBC radio coverage here.

Read more in the press release here:

SOUTHAMPTON DOCTORS IMPLANT COIN-SIZED HEART FAILURE MONITOR
 
Cardiac experts in Southampton have fitted a heart failure patient with a revolutionary monitoring device the size of a 5p coin. The wireless CardioMEMS Heart Failure System is a tiny battery-free sensor which is implanted into the pulmonary artery via the groin, charged externally and does not require replacement at any point. It enables clinicians to review detailed, real-time information about patients’ heart rates and artery pressures and make changes to treatment before they reach the point of requiring admission to hospital.
 
The first procedure was carried out at Southampton General Hospital, part of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, by consultant cardiologist Dr Andrew Flett, who called the device a “game-changer”. It is the first time the device, which was implanted in a 53-year-old female patient, has been used in the UK outside of a clinical trial.
 
Heart failure affects around 900,000 people in the UK and occurs when the heart does not pump enough blood around the body. The condition leads to a number of symptoms – shortness of breath, dry cough, swelling in the ankles and legs, weight gain, increased urination, fatigue and irregular heartbeat – but can be controlled using a combination of interventions including lifestyle changes, medication, pacemakers and surgery.
 
As changes in the pressure of blood through the pulmonary artery can indicate worsening heart failure before the more commonly-used indirect measures of changes in weight and blood pressure, doctors can take action more quickly to resolve developing problems. However, the current standard of monitoring is carried out using blood pressure cuffs and electronic scales at home or in the clinic, which can result in delays in intervention and the need for hospital admission to resolve a worsening of symptoms.
 
The CardioMEMS device has been trialled extensively in the US, where studies led by researchers at Ohio State University Heart and Vascular Center found it reduced hospital admissions by 33% over an average of 18 months.
 
“Patients who receive this implant can send readings to us every day via the internet from their home so we can monitor them and adjust medications immediately – it is a revolution and a very exciting piece of technology,” said Dr Flett.
 
“The majority of hospital admissions for patients with heart failure occur as a result of a build up of excess fluid in the body which causes increased pressure in the pulmonary artery. This goes undetected until it is too late to treat and the patient ends up needing to be admitted.”
 
He added: “Being able to monitor pulmonary artery pressure on a daily basis will undoubtedly reduce hospital admissions, improving patients’ quality of life and relieving pressure on hospitals as a result – it is a real game-changer.”