This month’s European Heart Journal, published by the European Society of Cardiology and one of the leading cardiology publications worldwide, sees Royal Brompton Hospital featured as a ‘centre of excellence’ for cardiac care.
The report, which recognises the hospital’s important partnerships with Harefield Hospital and the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College London, describes Royal Brompton as a ‘centre which prides itself on leading innovative research whilst providing first class care to patients.’
Martin Cowie, consultant cardiologist and Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College, explained: “We view ourselves as the first place to come to in the UK, and probably in Europe, for many innovations across the board of cardiac disease. If somebody is developing a new drug, diagnostic technique or procedure, we want to be the first into that space when it moves from animal work into first-in-man trials and early randomized trials.”
Research highlighted includes the CardioMems system, where a microchip is placed in the pulmonary artery for patients with heart failure to facilitate remote monitoring and, in collaboration with respiratory specialists at the hospital, new ventilation and mask technologies for the treatment of sleep apnoea and heart failure.
Congenital heart disease is a stand-out area of research
Stressing that ‘research, innovation and education have been constant themes’ at Royal Brompton since it was founded in 1841, the feature sets out how congenital heart disease is a ‘stand-out area of research’ and that – as well as numerous ‘firsts’ – the Trust produces more highly cited publications about respiratory and cardiovascular medicine than any other NHS trust in England.
While highlighting the hospital’s ‘world-class research facilities’, the journal stresses that patient-centred care and research remain the Trust’s focus. As Professor Kim Fox explained: “It [the care we provide] is cradle to grave; we treat the patient from before they are born right up until they die… Everything we do at Royal Brompton and Harefield is based on our patients. Our research is patient-focused and we believe we can give the best care to our patients by having a high-profile interaction between our clinical and research colleagues.”
Read the full article in September 2017’s European Heart Journal online.