Dr. Asrar Ahmed
CARDIOLOGY specialist
MB, BS, ECFMG(USA), MD, MRCP, DM, CCT, UK
Interventional Cardiologist
Dr. Asrar Ahmed is a full-time Consultant Cardiologist and Interventional Cardiologist at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust. He also holds an honorary consultant position at King’s College Hospital, London.
Dr. Ahmed’s NHS practice spans some of the busiest cardiac centres in the UK. He is recognised for his expertise in the diagnosis and management of a wide range of cardiovascular and cardiometabolic disorders.
Dr. Ahmed brings a wealth of experience in cardiovascular medicine. He completed his post-graduate training in internal medicine, followed by three years of post-doctoral cardiology training (DM) in India. Upon moving to the UK, he undertook a cardiac research fellowship at London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust with focus on contrast and stress echocardiography. He was selected to undergo the prestigious London North-West Thames Cardiology Training Programme, where he trained at several renowned institutions in London, including Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital, and Harefield Hospital, with a subspecialty focus on interventional cardiology.
Dr. Ahmed went on to complete his interventional cardiology fellowship at the world-renowned Harefield Hospital. Over the course of three years, he further refined his skills in complex coronary interventions and the management of coronary artery disease and heart valve conditions. In addition to his interventional expertise, Dr. Ahmed has advanced training in transthoracic, transoesophageal, and stress echocardiography. He also has a strong interest in the assessment of cardiometabolic risk, enabling him to deliver comprehensive and holistic cardiovascular care to his patients.
Special Interests and Expertise
- Complex coronary procedures (e.g., shock wave, rotablation, intracoronary imaging, coronary physiology).
- Right heart catheterizations for cardiopulmonary disease assessment.
- Heart valve disease management, especially TAVI.
- Transesophageal echocardiography and stress echocardiography.
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Diagnosis and treatment of angina (chest pain) and coronary artery disease
- Interventional Cardiology
- Lipid disorders
- Palpitations
- Atrial fibrillation
- Shortness of breath (dyspnoea)
- Dizziness
- Collapse with or without loss of consciousness (syncope) · heart failure
- Investigation of heart murmur/valvular heart disease
- Assessment of cardiovascular risk and prevention
AREAS OF INTEREST:
Radial (wrist) and distal radial (using thumb artery) access coronary angiography, coronary physiology and intra-coronary imaging, coronary angioplasty and stenting, complex PCI, acute myocardial infarction/cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest, TAVI, PFO closure, right heart catheterisation, contrast and stress echocardiography, trans-oesophageal echocardiography.CLINICAL EXPERTISE:
Dr. Ahmed has extensive expertise in the diagnosis and management of a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, including:- Chest pain and coronary artery disease assessment
- Breathlessness
- Dizziness and syncope (blackouts)
- Palpitations
- High blood pressure
- Heart valve disorders
- Lipid disorders
- Cardiometabolic conditions such as high cholesterol, obesity, and related metabolic disorders
Research Experience
- NIHR Good clinical Practice certificate 2020/2024.
- As consultant: Sub-investigator in various interventional cardiology trails at East Kent Hospitals.
- 2013-2015: Sub-investigator for landmark commercial studies: ISCHEMIA trial, COMPASS and FOURIER study while working as cardiac research fellow.
- Multiple publications on stress echocardiography in peer reviewed journals whilst working as cardiac research fellow.
- 2009-2012: Post-doctoral thesis (DM Cardiology): August 2012.
- Serum leptin levels, serum soluble leptin receptor (sOb-R) levels and leptin receptor gene polymorphism (Q223R) in patients with coronary artery disease.
- ApoE gene polymorphism and its relationship with coronary artery disease in ethnic Kashmiri population. Published in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (2016)
- 2005-2008: MD thesis: May 2008. “Clinical Profile of Heart Failure patients – A Hospital Based Study”.
Publications
- Successful percutaneous closure of aortic root-to-right ventricular fistula after transcatheter aortic valve implantation; a valuable option in high-risk surgical patients. Apostolos Vrettos, Alison Duncan, Asrar Ahmed, Ee Ling Heng, Vasileios Panoulas. European Heart Journal – Case Reports (2022) 6(3), 1-6.
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the management of non-culprit lesions in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction: Outcomes from the pan-London heart attack centres. O Demir, C Little, R Jabbour, H Rahman, M Sayers, Asrar Ahmed et al. Catheter Cardiovascular Interventions. 2021; 1-6. (Most downloaded paper during its first 12 months of publication)
- COVID-19 pandemic and STEMI: pathway activation and outcomes from pan-London heart attack group. Little CD, Kotecha T, Candilio L, Richard J Jabbour, George B Collins, Asrar Ahmed, Michelle Connolly, Ritesh Kanyal, Ozan M Demir, Lucy O Lawson, Brian Wang, Sam Firoozi, James C Spratt, Divaka Perera, Philip MacCarthy , Miles Dalby, Ajay Jain, Simon J Wilson, Iqbal Malik, Roby Rakhit. Open Heart 2020;7:e001432. Doi10.1136/openhrt-2020-001432.
- Cost effectiveness of a management strategy based on exercise echocardiography versus exercise electrocardiography in patients presenting with suspected angina during long term follow up: A randomized study. S Gurunathan, K Zacharias, M Akhtar, Asrar Ahmed et al. International Journal Cardiology 259 (2018) 1-7.
- Diagnostic concordance and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing FFR and stress echocardiography for the assessment of coronary stenosis of intermediate severity. S Gurunathan, Asrar Ahmed et al. Journal of American Society of Echocardiography Feb 2018;31(2):180-186.
- The clinical efficacy and long-term prognostic value of stress echocardiography in octogenarians. S Gurunathan, Asrar Ahmed, J Pabla et al. Heart 2017; 103:517-523.
- Relative clinical and economic impact of exercise echocardiography vs exercise electrocardiography, as a first line investigation in patients without known coronary artery disease and new stable angina: a randomized prospective study. Konstantinos Zacharias, Asrar Ahmed, Benoy N Shah, S. Gurunathan, G Young, D Acosta, Roxy Senior. European Heart Journal Cardiovasc Imaging 2017; 18(2):195-202.
- Trans-ulnar vein graft PCI in an octogenarian. Asrar Ahmed, Nora Rossberg, Ahmed Elghamaz. J Cardiol & Cardiovasc Ther 2(2): 2016
- ApoE gene polymorphism and its relationship with coronary artery disease in ethnic Kashmiri population. Dil Afroze, Adfar Yousuf, Nisar A Tramboo, Zaffar Shah, Asrar Ahmed Clin Exp Med 2016; 16(4):551-556. Afroze, D., Yousuf, A., Tramboo, N. et al. ApoE gene polymorphism and its relationship with coronary artery disease in ethnic Kashmiri population. Clinical and Experimental Medicine 16, 551–556 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10238-015-0389-7
- Comparison and agreement between venous and arterial gas analysis in cardiopulmonary patients in Kashmir valley of the Indian subcontinent. P Koul, U Hafiz, A Wani, R Echakoti, RA Jan, S Shah, ZA Masoodi, SM Qadri, M Ahmad, Asrar Ahmed. Annals of Thoracic Medicine-Vol 6, Issue 1, January-March 2011.
- Relapse of acute myeloid leukaemia presenting as acute otitis media. Afaq AK, Saima Nazir, Asrar Ahmed. Quarterly Journal of Medicine 2010; 103:533-534
- Brugada Syndrome. Jalal S, Asrar Ahmed, Kaiser Habib, Pawan Suri. Indian Heart J 2006; 58(6): 440-443.