Our Medical Team
Dr Paul Das
Dr Paul Das is a Consultant Cardiologist based at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Rhyl. He has a special interest in coronary angioplasty and stenting, and is the first interventional cardiologist in North Wales.
He qualified at Oxford University in 1993 and trained in cardiology as a specialist registrar in Manchester. He undertook research for an MD on aortic valve disease at St Thomas’ Hospital in London and has published papers and presented lectures on this topic. After qualifying as a consultant in 2005 he took an interventional fellowship post in Melbourne, Australia, receiving training in all aspects of coronary angioplasty. He has extensive experience of treating patients with angina and heart attacks.
Dr Das currently performs coronary angioplasty at the Cardiothoracic Centre in Liverpool, one of the UK’s largest cardiac centres. He is helping to develop local angioplasty services for the residents of North Wales. He lives in Chester and consults at the Nuffield Grosvenor Hospital.
Click here to download Dr Das' clinic information leaflet
Dr Sarah Clarke
Dr Sarah Clarke is a Consultant Cardiologist and the Clinical Director for Cardiac Services at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. A Cambridge undergraduate, her postgraduate training in Cardiology, including research thesis, was undertaken at Addenbrookes and Papworth Hospitals. Towards the end of her training she was awarded a Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA and returned to her Consultant post at Papworth Hospital in 2002.
Dr Clarke is a general cardiologist as well as being a specialist in interventional cardiology. She welcomes referrals for all cardiac problems including chest pain, valve disease, hypertension, palpitation/arrhythmia and shortness of breath. She also undertakes health screening.
Click here to download Dr Clarke's clinic information leaflet
Professor John Cleland
Professor John Cleland qualified in medicine at the University of Glasgow, Scotland 1977. After a period of postgraduate training and an introduction to research he was appointed first as Senior Registrar and subsequently as Senior Lecturer in Cardiology and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington and the Hammersmith Hospital, London from 1986-1994. In 1994 Professor Cleland was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship by the British Heart Foundation to transfer to the Medical Research Council's Clinical Research Initiative in Heart Failure. Professor Cleland was appointed to the Foundation Chair of Cardiology at the University of Hull in 1999.
Professor Cleland's main area of interest is in heart failure, extending from its epidemiology and prevention, through the development and implementation of guidelines for the application of current knowledge, to large randomized trials to study interventions for and disease areas in heart failure. He has served on the Steering Committee, Data Safety and Monitoring Board and/or End-Points Committee of many landmark studies of acute or chronic heart failure including ATLAS, COMET, VERITAS, SURVIVE, REVERSE, CORONA, RED-HF.
His major current interests are the use of bio-markers and telemedicine to manage patients better, implanted device-therapy for heart failure and investigation and treatment of disordered myocardial metabolism and to explore these topics so that they can be developed into substantial, pragmatic trials that change clinical practice.
Professor Cleland heads The Academic Unit of Cardiology that includes 3 Senior Lecturers and a team of basic and clinical scientists, technicians and research nurses dedicated to heart failure research.
Dr Hugh McIntyre
Dr McIntyre graduated from Oxford University in 1981 and from Westminster Medical School, London, in 1984. His M.D. in Cardiovascular Physiology was awarded in 1994. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1999 and appointed Consultant Physician to the Conquest Hospital, Hastings in 1995, and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist to the Royal Brompton Hospital London in 1999. Dr McIntyre is involved in local and national research and is an investigator in international studies. He has presented and published on hypertension, heart failure and cardiovascular disease and is a reviewer and editorial board member to cardiovascular journals.
Click here to download Dr McIntyre's clinic information leaflet
Dr John Perrins
Dr Perrins trained initially in Electrical Engineering at Imperial College London and then transferred to Medical School in Leeds in 1969. He qualified in 1975 and did postgraduate training at the Hammersmith Hospital, Northwick Park Hospital and subsequently Senior registrar at The Westminster Hospital and The National Heart Hospital. He was heavily involved with pacemaker research in his early career and was a council member of the British pacing and electrophysiological society (Now Heart Rhythm UK) for 10 years and held offices of secretary and treasurer. He founded the Leeds Live Stent course in 1992 and in 1996 was elected President of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS). The Yorkshire Heart Centre in Leed is now the largest single PCI centre in the UK (possibly Europe) with annual PCI rates set to exceed 2800 cases per annum.
He has served on many government committees and advises the UK regulatory authority (MHRA). He is a standing member (non-executive director) of the UK Committee of Safety of Devices.
He has published widely and co-edited “An essential guide to coronary Intervention”. This successful book is about to launch its second edition.
He currently practices predominantly in the private medical sector in Leeds.
Click here to download Dr Perrins' clinic information leaflet.
Dr Mark Turner
Dr Turner is a Consultant Cardiologist in the Bristol Royal Infirmary. His main interests are Heart Failure, congenital heart disease, interventional catheterisation (including major vessel stenting and device occlusion of holes in the heart) and pacemaker and defibrillator therapy.
He spent some time in the Royal Navy as a Diving Medicine Specialist and Submarine Escape Instructor. He parachuted into the sea as part of the submarine rescue service and escaped from a submarine in Loch Fyne from a depth of 300 feet. He then trained in Hospital Medicine in the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar and subsequently in Plymouth. He trained in Cardiology in Plymouth, Cardiff, Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College Hospital London. He was awarded a PhD for research in Cardiff and has authored several papers on cardiac resynchronisation therapy (biventricular pacing). As a Cardiology Registrar he set up a heart failure pacing service in Cardiff in 1999 when biventricular pacing was in its infancy and has continued to develop this therapy in patients of increasing complexity. He has one of the largest experiences in Europe of biventricular pacing for patients with congenital heart disease and in children.
Click here to download Dr Turner's clinic information leaflet for Bristol
Click here to download Dr Turner's clinic information leaflet for Oxford
Dr Tim Betts
Dr Betts qualified from Birmingham University Medical School in 1991. He trained in general cardiology in the Wessex Region (Bath, Bournemouth and Southampton Hospitals) and went on to sub-specialise in cardiac electrophysiology with further training at Southampton University Hospitals and an 18-month fellowship in Chicago at Northwestern University and the Children’s Memorial Hospital. He was awarded an MD by Southampton University in 2003. He was appointed Consultant Cardiologist and Electrophysiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in 2004.
His interests include heart rhythm abnormalities (e.g. atrial fibrillation), blackouts, sudden cardiac death, pacemakers, defibrillators, ablation treatments and resynchronisation pacing for heart failure.
Click here to download Dr Betts' clinic information leaflet.
Dr Zaheer Yousef
Dr Yousef qualified in medicine from Guys Hospital in 1992 after obtaining a First class BSc degree in immunology from the University of London. After completing his postgraduate medical training on the London teaching hospital circuit, he was awarded a British Heart Foundation grant to support his MD at Guys and St Thomas\' Hospitals. During this time he conducted a widely acclaimed clinical study investigating the role of angioplasty after myocardial infarction (The Open Artery Trial) and was involved in the development of experimental models of heart failure. After completing his MD, he joined the cardiology training scheme in Wales, after which, he undertook a higher training Fellowship in Birmingham to sub-specialise in advanced treatments for heart failure including cardiac resynchronisation therapy (biventricular pacing), cardiac defibrillators, cardiomyopathies, and cardiac MRI. Throughout his career, he has maintained an academic interest, publishing on a regular basis. He was appointed Consultant Cardiologist and lead clinician for heart failure at The University Hospital of Wales in 2005. His interests include the assessment, implantation, and follow-up of devices (biventricular pacemakers and defibrillators) in patients with heart failure.
Professor Stephen Westaby
BSc (Biochem) M.B.B.S. FRCS MS PhD (Bioeng) FESC FETCS FICA
With more than twenty-five years experience, Professor Westaby is one of the World’s most eminent and prolific cardiac surgeons. Specialising in both congenital and acquired heart disease, surgery of the thoracic aorta and heart failure surgery, he has performed more than 10,000 heart operations, produced 10 surgical textbooks, 2 scientific theses and 250 papers in medical journals. He is a pioneer in artificial heart technology and Professor of Biomedical Sciences in addition to being responsible for the World’s longest surviving artificial heart patient. Professor Westaby has published the lowest mortality rate for the most taxing surgical emergency, aortic dissection. With high honours from Russia and the United States, Westaby’s work on the treatment of heart failure has been widely featured in the media. This includes the BBC’s Your Life in their Hands, Panorama, Horizon (USA and Australia), News Night, the Sunday Times Magazine, Readers Digest and newspapers throughout the World.
Click here to download Professor Westaby's clinic information leaflet.
Dr John Somauroo
Dr Somauroo graduated from the University of Nottingham Medical School in 1989. He subsequently trained in Plymouth and Leicester then the Mersey Cardiology rotation. At the Cardiothoracic Centre, Liverpool he published research on cardiac screening of youth professional footballers and the largest ever long term follow up of pacemakers. He was appointed Consultant Cardiologist at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2000 and appointed Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London in 2004.
He is chairman of the Cheshire and North Wales Regional Heart Failure Committee and is one of the co-founders of the award-winning Integrated Primary and Secondary Heart Failure Service which utilises extended prescribing by heart failure specialist nurses. He lectures locally and nationally on the management of heart failure and is currently researching diagnostic blood tests (BNP) and non-invasive ventilation (CPAP and BiPAP) in heart failure.
He performs cardiac catheterisation and specialises in dobutamine stress echocardiography (non-invasive heart scan for diagnosing coronary artery disease) and transoesophageal echocardiography (for assessing holes in the heart and valves before surgery). He is a University Lecturer in Cardiology and also lectures on athletic heart syndrome and screening of young athletes for inherited conditions, cardiomyopathies and prevention of sudden cardiac death.
His consulting room is at the Nuffield Hospital Grosvenor (Chester).
In his spare time he is a Rugby Union coach.
Click here to download Dr Somauroo's clinic information leaflet.
Dr Guy Haywood
Dr Haywood is a specialist in Adult Cardiology dealing with all types of heart disease, but focusing on two main areas: heart rhythm problems and coronary artery disease.
Having trained in the investigation and treatment of heart disorders at St. George's Hospital, London, Stanford University Hospital Medical School, California and The Wessex Cardiothoracic Centre, Southampton University Hospital, in November 1996 he started work as a Consultant Cardiac Electrophysiologist and Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Dr Haywood helped to set up the South West Cardiothoracic Centre - the Cardiac Surgery centre for Devon and Cornwall, which opened for catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias, coronary angioplasty (percutaneous coronary intervention PCI) and cardiac surgery on November 1st 1997.
Dr Haywood is currently a member of the Executive Council of the Arrhythmia Alliance heart rhythm charity, and the British Cardiac Society Clinical Practice committee. Previously he has served on the Heart Rhythm UK Council, acted as the Secretary to the UK Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology Society and been a member of the Department of Health's Expert Group on Cardiac Arrhythmias in addition to being a Faculty presenter at the Advanced Angioplasty meetings for the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society 2003-5. Dr Haywood is currently the Chairman of the committee supervising the training of Cardiology Specialist Registrars in the South West.
Click here to download Dr Haywood's clinic information leaflet.
Dr Michael Pitt
Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Lead, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital
Dr Pitt qualified in 1990. After training via the West Midlands SpR rotation including two years as a British Heart Foundation research fellow (University Hospital Birmingham and Hammersmith PET Cyclotron Unit) and one year as a cardiac transplant fellow, took up Consultant post in January 2001. Dr Pitt’s main interest is complex coronary artery intervention and his research has included examining the natural history of hibernating myocardium and coronary artery bypass surgery for ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction.
Click here to download Dr Pitt's clinic information leaflet.
Dr Charles Knight
Dr Charles Knight trained at Cambridge and Oxford Universities and is a consultant interventional cardiologist at the London Chest Hospital with a special interest in septal ablation for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He assisted Professor Ulrich Sigwart at the first septal ablation at the Royal Brompton hospital in 1994.
Dr Knight is Head of Cardiology at Barts and the London NHS trust. He is Associate Editor of Heart, a specialist advisor to NICE and Honorary Secretary Elect of the British Cardiovascular Society.