I am writing to apply for BHVS Council position.

I am a senior cardiology trainee and research fellow in cardiac imaging, currently completing my PhD that focusses on understanding the sociodemographic differences in the incidence and prevalence of aortic stenosis and the identification of imaging biomarkers associated with adverse outcomes to guide a precision medicine approach to the management of aortic stenosis.

My previous position on the BCS Digital and IT committee (formerly Digital, Communications and Marketing Committee) has provided me with an opportunity to develop and market BCS Heartbeat, which is a curated cardiology news page (http://www.cardionewsuk.org/). Under the guidance of myself, a senior editor and others, our junior editors select key research, news items and recent guidelines to produce short summaries to bring the UK cardiology community up to date. For special pieces we have invited trainees and consultants for expert opinions and video content. My role has been pivotal in formatting the webpage to improve the visual impact and practicality through collaboration with the digital team.

Additionally, I am an organiser for the Yorkshire Cardiology Simulation Course (https://www.britishcardiovascularsociety.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0034/59938/Yorkshire-Cardiology-SImulation-Course-2022.pdf), this includes formulating the course programme, confirming faculty, and arranging sponsors for the course. The course is successful, received positive feedback, been endorsed by the BCS and has attracted trainees nationally.

I am already a trainee representative on BHVS committee but would like to apply for the position of Digital/Web Lead and actively contribute to the BHVS to enhance the digital experience of its users. I am anenthusiastic, highly motivated and hard working individual who possesses the transferable skills and attributes to excel in this role.

Saadia Aslam

I am a cardiologist based at St Bartholomew’s hospital, London and my main interests surround native and acquired heart valve disease and cardiac imaging. I run a weekly valve clinic and participate in aortic, mitral and carcinoid heart valve MDT. I currently supervise PhD students in atrial valve disease and mitral valve prolapse.

The number of patients with valve disease continues to increase due to changes in population demographics. There are challenges in providing expert, timely, evidence-based care within this environment. I wish to help the BHVS continue to enhance the range and depth of educational courses and content it provides and help the BHVS identify areas where initiatives such as consensus documents or guidelines would help healthcare professionals provide care for valve patients. In addition, I will try to help raise awareness of the expanding range of services needed to enhance valve care for patients.

I have a wide range of experience in valve disease including helping develop national imaging guidance in aortic stenosis, aortic regurgitation and prosthetic valve disease. I have led national surveys into the provision and organisation of heart valve services within the UK which have highlighted areas for improvement and focussed developmental strategies. I am a keen advocate for patient involvement and education. I have written several patient information/education documents in carcinoid heart disease.

If elected, it will be a honour to serve on the BHVS council and I will try my best to work with the BHVS team to improve care for patients with heart valve disease.

Sanjeev Bhattacharyya

I have been a consultant structural & interventional cardiologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital since 2022. Having started my training in Cambridge and London, I then completed cardiology and coronary training in Oxford, before undertaking a 2-year fellowship in structural intervention in New York. During my training I completed a basic science DPhil in Oxford, as well as a number of clinical registry and trial analyses, using NICOR outputs and the PARTNER 3 dataset. I now undertake the full spectrum of adult structural intervention including TAVI, TEER, TMVR (ViV, ViMAC), TTVR, LAAO, and PFO/ASD closure, in addition to coronary intervention. I have particular interests in clinical research, education and training, and have previously been a member of the BCS Joint Committee on Clinical Standards & Guidelines.

If elected to the BHVS Council I would work to increase the focus on three issues in particular. First, the challenges of training in structural intervention are significant. There is a need to develop clearer and more flexible training pathways for interventional cardiology and interventional imaging, both for trainees and for existing consultants. It is also essential to promote the value of subspecialty training, which I believe has been undermined by the Shape of Training review. Second, access to structural heart procedures in the UK is highly variable and often subject to unacceptable delays, sometimes with associated morbidity and mortality. The BHVS is well placed to systematically analyse this issue, in the first instance working to define and highlight the extent of the problem, Third, one of the strengths of the BHVS is its network of members – who could potentially collaborate through the society to address clinically-relevant research questions in our field which do not attract industry funding – for example in infective endocarditis.

I would bring enthusiasm, energy and a commitment to the role if selected – many thanks in advance for your support.

Tom Cahill

Thank you for considering my application for a position on the BHVS council. I am currently serving as a consultant cardiologist at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester and hold an Honorary Senior Lecturer position at the University of Manchester. My specialist interest is multimodality imaging (cardiac CT, MR, and to a lesser extent, echocardiography), with a particular focus on structural heart disease. I am the clinical lead for cardiac cross-sectional imaging at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is among the highest volume services in the country, and I will be launching a Rapid Access Valve Assessment clinic in early 2025.

I am also an integral part of the structural heart team and established the SHD cardiac CT service on my appointment as a consultant in 2020. Before my appointment, I completed my cardiology training within the North West Deanery, earned a PhD from the University of Manchester—during which I explored the use of CMR in evaluating patients with aortic stenosis—and pursued an advanced cardiac imaging fellowship at the Centre for Heart Valve Innovation at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia.
As a Fellow of the Society of Cardiovascular CT, I recurrently chair the programme committee of the Valve Imaging track during their annual scientific meetings and contribute to their Live Education delivery committee. Additionally, I chair numerous international courses on cardiac CT for valvular heart disease and frequently serve as an invited speaker and chair at national and international conferences on the topic. I have co-authored several state-of-the-art reviews, research papers, and invited reviews on this subject. Recently, I was elected co-chair of the first-of-kind SCCT guidelines for using cardiac CT in mitral valve disease and pre-procedural planning for transcatheter mitral valve therapies. I am also part of the writing committee for the updated SCCT TAVR CT guidelines.

Moreover, I am involved with the British Cardiovascular Society Quality and Standards Committee and the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging Committee, both of which closely relate to the BHVS.

I believe my clinical expertise in a growing but foundational area of valvular heart disease, as well as my demonstrable passion for imaging in structural heart disease and transcatheter therapies and translational experience in other aligned committees would make me a great addition to the team.

Anna Reid

Please accept this as my expression of interest to join the BHVS council. Based on my current position, the experience I have cultivated over the recent years, and the trajectory of my role within the Valve Team at LTHT and beyond, this would be an exciting opportunity for me; and I would be a valuable addition to the council as an advocate for valve physiologists nationally.

I have over six years’ experience delivering a sonographer-led valve clinic and five years of experience as the lead physiologist for one of the largest valve services in the country. At LTHT, we currently have around 2,500 patients within our sonographer led service, we provide care to a population of over 3 million, and we undertake around 750 aortic and 150 mitral interventions annually.

My role as the lead valve physiologist within this team has involved me working together with physicians to develop local transthoracic scanning and reporting templates, triaging protocols, standard operating procedures for the sonographer-led services, follow-up guidelines, training documents, patient information leaflets and our Trust webpage. I deliver in-house education and training in the echo assessment of valve disease, and have been involved in a number of regional training and networking sessions. I developed a training programme for sonographers wishing to work within our valve team – spanning from completing an advanced valve echocardiogram through to becoming autonomous in sonographer-led clinic which has been shared regionally. I am dedicated to improving regional networks of valve clinics – I have invited representatives from local centres to observe our clinic with the aim of developing their own sonographer-led services with support from our team at LTHT. I also undertake or oversee three sonographer-led valve clinics each week, I co-ordinate our weekly pre-valve clinic MDT and attend the trust and regional valve MDTs as an imaging and valve expert.

We are all aware that the prevalence of valve disease is ever increasing and services are stretched. I am a huge advocate for the development and implementation of innovative and advanced physiologist-led roles alongside specialist Cardiologists. These services not only aid provision of timely and advanced care to the appropriate patients, but ease pressure on the complex consultant-led clinics. Furthermore, they allow for service development in line with Health Education England recommendations to implement novel ways to deliver healthcare to meet these increasing demands.

Physiologists and Scientists are invaluable members of the valve team, and given the increasing number of valve clinics nationally (clinician / nurse / physiologist led), I think the Society will benefit from a sonographer representative. One who is keen to cultivate Regional and National frameworks where echocardiographic assessment of valve disease can be standardised as best possible, and information and experiences of sonographer-led services can be shared. I would be honoured to represent sonographers at meetings, be involved in the development and dissemination of guidelines and educational material, and promote BHVS training and events.

I thank you in advance for your consideration.

Charlotte Turner