Healthy heart clinic created by Wirral cardiologist – Wirral Globe

One of the UKs leading heart doctors is set to open the North West regions first independent healthy heart clinic.

Dr Scott Murray, former President of the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR) and Consultant Cardiologist at Wirral University Teaching Hospital is launching Venturi Cardiology in Birchwood, Warrington this Spring. Venturi was created by Dr Murray and three like-minded Cardiologist friends.

The state-of-the-art heart screening clinic has been backed with investment from the Briley Group. The clinic will create 10 new jobs for the area during its first two years of operation.

Venturis mission is to make world-class heart care accessible, affordable and more personalised. In the same way that a mammogram is given as standard for women over 50 or with a family history, Venturi want heart testing to be a standard procedure for those patients most at risk.

As well as providing routine diagnostic cardiology services, Venturis primary objective is to treat the cause of heart disease, currently the UKs biggest killer. Every 25 minutes someone in the North West dies from heart or circulatory disease, with healthcare costs relating to these diseases estimated at 9 billion each year.

Dr Murray, who was inspired to become a cardiologist after his grandfather died suddenly of a heart attack, said: Every year, over 100,000 people in the UK die of sudden cardiac arrest, and yet so much of our heart health is driven by what we eat, how we move and through lifestyle choices -factors that are all within our control.

I see people every day who, if they had received a heart scan five years before, could have been treated or potentially may have been given that push to really change their lifestyle and turn their life around.

Dr Sam Srivastava, a founding clinician, said: Our goal is to speed up treatment for patients, save lives and help to offload some of the pressures on the NHS. We also want to grow our team and expanding our services to other health care requirements.

The strain the global coronavirus pandemic has put on NHS waiting times is reaching crisis point. Operating as an independent clinic, Venturi is looking to collaborate with the NHS to offer its services through GPs and hospitals, ensuring that GPs can refer higher risk patients on to them.

As part of its service offering, Venturi will offer an annual membership programme that offers patients a 360-degree approach to their heart health, with annual screening, fast track availability to expert consultants (either virtually or in-clinic) and a personalised health and wellbeing plan incorporating nutrition, lifestyle and advanced diagnostic testing.

Dr Tom Heseltine, one of the founding clinicians at Venturi, said: No two hearts are exactly the same and current assessment protocols, plus COVID waiting times, mean that those who are at risk often experience a significant, and in some cases, life threatening, delay in receiving the required treatment.

Dr Hasleton, a specialist interventional cardiologist and founding consultant at Venturi, said: The investment from Briley has allowed us to buy a new CT scanner and Echocardiography machine to set up a state-of-the-art clinic which will be readily accessible to the M6 and M62 corridor, Liverpool, Manchester, Cheshire, Wirral and beyond. Working with the NHS, we hope to reduce waiting times and provide another option for self-paying patients or those with private medical insurance.

Shalom Benaim, non-executive director, said Venturi will bring real benefits to patients in the North West as well as further afield. We help great businesses grow and Venturi very much fits the bill a real need, a compelling business case, and a team of experts and a management team available to deliver this world class service where it is really needed to save lives.

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Healthy heart clinic created by Wirral cardiologist - Wirral Globe