Professor Julian Halcox is a Consultant Cardiologist at Sancta Maria Hospital, Swansea, holding the Chair of Cardiology at Swansea University Medical School. He is an internationally recognised expert in preventive cardiovascular medicine and vascular biology, with over 40,000 academic citations. He is Cardiovascular Lead for Health Data Research UK’s Centre at Swansea University and has been involved in the development of European and national guidelines for the investigation, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Specialist Interests

• Preventive cardiovascular medicine
• Coronary artery disease
• Cardiovascular risk assessment and management
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Lipid disorders including high cholesterol
• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart failure
• POTS syndrome
• Heart valve disease
• Cardiac complications of diabetes

Conditions Treated at Sancta Maria Hospital

Prof Halcox is happy to see patients with any concerns about their heart and circulation. He has particular expertise in the assessment and management of chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, dizziness, blackouts and loss of consciousness, leg swelling and fatigue. He also offers comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment, advanced lipid management and long-term prevention strategies for patients at risk of heart attack and stroke.

He also performs radionuclide myocardial perfusion scanning (nuclear cardiology) for the investigation of blood flow to the heart in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease.

Preventive Cardiology

Prof Halcox is a global leader in the field of preventive cardiovascular medicine and has been involved in the development of European as well as local guidelines for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. He recently led a major multidisciplinary review of cardiovascular disease prevention strategy in Wales. His research programme in Swansea University Medical School focuses on coronary artery disease and stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, advanced cardiovascular risk assessment and translational vascular biology.

Training and Background

Prof Halcox studied Medicine at Queens’ College, Cambridge and Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, London. He completed his specialist cardiology training at St Bartholomew’s, The London Chest Hospital and The Heart Hospital, University College London, and spent three years as a Fogarty International Research Fellow and Visiting Scientist in the Cardiology Branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA, where he studied human coronary and peripheral vascular physiology. He subsequently held a British Heart Foundation Senior Lectureship at University College London, with honorary consultant posts at Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College Hospital and The Heart Hospital. He was Professor of Cardiology at Cardiff University before taking up his current Chair at Swansea University in 2013.

Research

Prof Halcox has accumulated over 38,500 citations of his academic work, reflecting his standing as one of the most widely cited cardiologists in the UK. He has published extensively on vascular biology, cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention, and is an active contributor to national and international clinical trials and research collaborations.

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP)
• European Society of Cardiology
• European Association of Preventive Cardiology
• Welsh Cardiovascular Society
• British Atherosclerosis Society
• HEART UK