Dr Vasim Farooq
Consultant Cardiologist
MBChB, MRCP, PhD, FESC
Specialises in
- Coronary artery disease
- Angina
- Interventional cardiology
- Cardiology
I am an interventional cardiologist and academic in cardiovascular research based at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. I specialise in coronary artery disease, ANOCA (angina with non obstructive coronary arteries), acute coronary syndrome, interventional cardiology for both complex coronary and structural intervention, general cardiology and cholesterol/risk factor management for patients with coronary artery disease.
I have over 20 years of clinical cardiology experience and have undertaken consultant posts in London and Newcastle before being appointed in Cardiff over 5 years ago.
As a general cardiologist, I manage patients with coronary and valvular heart disease (chest pain, breathlessness and heart murmurs), heart rhythm disturbances (palpitations) and heart failure (breathlessness and swelling). As an interventional cardiologist, my expertise is in the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
My major areas of expertise are the diagnosis and treatment of ischaemic heart disease (angina), including coronary angiography and complex coronary angioplasty, angina with non obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA), which is a relatively common and under diagnosed condition in patients with chest pain.
I have expertise in both the diagnosis (with invasive and/or non-invasive testing) and ongoing management of this and conditions such as vasospastic angina (spasm of the coronary arteries) and microvascular angina (disease in the tiny blood vessels to the heart that cannot be seen with the naked eye during coronary angiography). I also diagnose and manage patients with acute coronary syndrome which will includes use of intravascular imaging and lipid (cholesterol) and risk factor management in patients with or without established coronary artery disease.
To date I have performed over 3,000 angioplasties, the majority performed via the wrist. I have expertise in the use of intravascular imaging, which is additional imaging with specialised equipment that is inserted in the blood vessel before and/or after stent implantation to ensure optimal stent expansion. This has recently been proven to lead to improved outcomes. I utilise both IVUS (intravascular ultrasound) and optical coherence tomography (OCT).
In my NHS Practice I am an experienced structural operator undertaking transaortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic stenosis. TAVI is a way of replacing the existing diseased aortic valve with a new tissue valve, thereby improving how the heart works without the need for open heart surgery. I lead the percutaneous foramen oval (PFO) closure service at University Hospital of Wales for cryptogenic stroke.
I continue to research complex coronary disease. I have designed and served as a steering committee member in the practice changing international SYNTAX II which sought to improve the assessment of risk in patients with complex coronary artery disease. This allowed doctors and patients to improve decision making between drug eluting stents and coronary artery bypass surgery based on improving long term outcomes. I am currently in the process of setting up a randomised controlled trial at the University Hospital of Wales in the acute management of heart attacks.
I am widely published in most of the major peer reviewed cardiovascular journals with over 140 published papers and an ‘h-index’ of 48. He has regularly spoken at both national and international cardiology congresses.
General Medical Council Number: C4710480
Treatment information
Some of the principal treatments carried out by Dr Vasim Farooq at Spire include:
Cardiology
- Blood pressure test
- Cardiac catheterisation
- Cardiac CT scan (heart CT)
- Cardiomemo recording
- Cardioversion
- Cholesterol level test
- Coronary angioplasty
- Heart valve replacement
Other treatments
- Complex coronary artery disease including intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)/optical coherence tomography (OCT)
- Invasive/non-invasive assessment and management of angina with non obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA)
- Optimising lipid (cholesterol) and other risk factors in patients with coronary artery disease (secondary prevention)
- Screening for coronary artery disease and preventative treatment including lipid management (primary prevention)
Get in touch
Important information about COVID-19 tests
COVID-19 testing or antibody tests are not available as a standalone service at Spire Cardiff Hospital.
Additional information
Clinical interests
Coronary artery disease
Interventional cardiology
Structural heart disease: - TAVI valves (transaortic valve implantation): minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of aortic stenosis - PFO (patent foramen ovale) closure: minimally invasive treatment for cryptogenic stroke
Qualification and professional memberships
PhD / Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands / 2014
Doctor of Philosophy
Under the tutelage of internationally renowned Professor Patrick Serruys. My PhD focused on the management of complex coronary artery disease and resulted in numerous publications and prizes including a $10,000 scholarship for the Thomas J Linnemeier Spirit of Interventional Cardiology Young Investigator Award, Washington, United States.
Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training / North Western Deanery / 2014
Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training
MRCP / MRCP / 2004
Member of the Royal College of Physicians
MBChB / University of Manchester / 2000
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
Professional memberships
Fellow European Society of Cardiology (FESC)
Member of the Royal College of Physicians
Member of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society (BCIS)
Professional leadership
I am the clinical lead for the PFO closure service at the University Hospital of Wales.
I am the chief investigator for a randomised controlled trial in South Wales aimed at improving outcomes in patients presenting with an acute heart attack.
Current NHS posts
Consultant Cardiologist, University Hospital of Wales
Personal profile
I live in Cardiff with my wonderful wife and three young children. My wife is a cardiologist currently based in Bristol. When we are not working all our free time is devoted to our young family. We love the outdoors, particularly exploring the coastal regions of South West Wales and trekking many of the major peaks across the UK.
Financial interests
Contact information
| Private secretary | Susan Jane Elliff |
| Private secretary telephone | 07580 426199 |
| Private secretary email | susan.elliff80@gmail.com |