Private cardiology in London: heart tests and treatments by hospital

Cardiology in London is spread over more sites than most cities, and the wording each hospital uses tells you what to expect. Spire London East in Redbridge frames its heart service around diagnosis: a blood pressure test, a cholesterol level test, a blood clot or thrombosis test, an electrocardiogram, a 24 or 48 hour event recorder, a contrast echocardiogram and a cardiac CT scan. The only procedure on its heart page is coronary angioplasty, so a patient who needs bypass surgery or a complex rhythm procedure should ask where that would be done.

Nuffield Health Highgate takes the opposite emphasis. Its cardiology page lists assessment of all aspects of cardiology, cardiac catheterisation to see whether the arteries are narrowed, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass grafting, cardioversion for abnormal rhythms and cardiac rehabilitation. A page that includes surgical rehabilitation implies a pathway from test to operation to recovery within one group, which is worth asking about directly.

HCA's The Harley Street Clinic describes cardiac care as its largest service, with more than 1,150 procedures a year quoted on its page, alongside CT, MRI, ultrasound, echocardiography and nuclear medicine imaging. The Wellington and The Lister both list cardiac care among their specialties, and The Lister adds full-body MRI and CT to its imaging list. None of these listings, on their own, show how many patients a particular consultant treats, which is the figure that matters for a procedure.

Spire London East is on Roding Lane South (IG4 5PZ). Redbridge Underground station is within walking distance, bus 366 from the station stops opposite, and 152 spaces are free. For a patient arriving for a stress test or a monitor fitting, the short walk from the station is often the simplest option. The hospital has CT and MRI on site, and says it accepts NHS, insured and self-paying patients.

Nuffield Health Highgate is at 17-19 View Road (N6 4DJ). Its page notes limited free parking on site and free parking on neighbouring roads with weekday restrictions between 10am and 12pm, and that it is outside the congestion charging zone but in the Ultra Low Emission Zone. At the time we read the page, MRI was provided by a mobile unit and CT was being arranged at other hospitals during an upgrade, so a heart patient who needs a cardiac scan should ask where it will be done.

The Harley Street Clinic is at 35 Weymouth Street (W1G 8BJ), five to ten minutes' walk from Regent's Park and Great Portland Street stations. Parking is metered or in independent car parks. Its imaging list includes echocardiography, CT, MRI, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine, which suits patients whose cardiac question may need several tests in one place.

The Wellington, at 8A Wellington Place in St John's Wood (NW8 9LE), is reached from St John's Wood station and buses 13, 46, 113, 117, 187 and 274. It lists cardiac care alongside neurology, cancer, orthopaedics and digestive health, plus 30 intensive care beds. The Lister, on Chelsea Bridge Road (SW1W 8RH), lists cardiac care with gynaecology, fertility and cancer care; it points drivers to the Battersea Park car park, a five-minute walk across Chelsea Bridge.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust describes heart and lung care as a strength of its private patient service. That service spans the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, which the trust lists among its six private locations, as well as Guy's and St Thomas'. King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust lists cardiac services in its international and private patients service from Denmark Hill. If you have a rare or complex condition, such as inherited heart muscle disease or a congenital problem in adulthood, a trust with a heart and lung focus can be a more natural place to start than a general independent hospital, and both trusts say private income is reinvested in the NHS.

For NHS-funded care, your NHS board follows your GP practice: North East London, South East London, South West London, or West and North London. In England the NHS says the maximum wait for non-urgent consultant-led treatment is 18 weeks, and you may choose the hospital for a first outpatient appointment. Anyone with new chest pain, breathlessness or palpitations should not wait for a routine appointment: a GP, NHS 111 or, in an emergency, 999 is the right route.

Most first visits begin with a conversation and a resting ECG, a tracing of the heart's electrical activity that takes a few minutes. If the picture is unclear, a cardiologist may ask for a longer recording: the 24 and 48 hour monitors named at Spire London East capture rhythm over a day or two of normal life, which helps when palpitations come and go. An echocardiogram, an ultrasound of the heart, shows how the chambers and valves move; the contrast version, listed at Spire London East, uses an injected agent to sharpen the picture when the standard view is poor.

Stress testing looks at how the heart behaves under load, either on a treadmill or with medication. Cardiac CT can examine the coronary arteries and calcium in their walls, and cardiac MRI gives detailed views of heart muscle; both appear in London listings. If those tests suggest a narrowing, a coronary angiogram through a catheter is the definitive look, and angioplasty can open the artery in the same sitting in suitable cases, as Highgate and Spire London East both mention.

Conditions you are likely to see discussed include angina and coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias, heart failure, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol. Each has a different pathway: atrial fibrillation may lead to cardioversion or an ablation, whereas stable angina is more often managed with medication and a decision about angioplasty.

Facilities and services change, so confirm each point with the hospital before you commit to a test or procedure.

• Will the tests be done on the day, or at another site? Highgate's CT arrangements were temporary when we read its page.

• If a procedure is needed, is it performed here, and what happens in a rare complication: is there an intensive care unit on site?

• Can my GP letter, previous ECGs and any scan discs be sent ahead so repeat testing is avoided?

• Will the consultant's fee, the hospital's fee and the tests be quoted separately in writing?

• How does the hospital share results with my GP and with my NHS cardiology team if I have one?

• How far is the follow-up site from home, given London distances?

Private cardiology is attractive in London mostly because of convenience: appointments are often possible at short notice, with imaging on the same day. The Princess Grace and The Lister both describe quick appointment turnaround on their pages (same-day or next-day, and within 24 hours, respectively), though a described speed of access is a hospital's own claim and not an independent measure. In practice, the real variable is the consultant's diary.

If you already hold an NHS cardiology diagnosis, bring the reports. A private consultant who can see your NHS echo and ECG avoids duplicating tests and can focus on the decision you actually need to make, such as whether a procedure is appropriate now or whether medication should be tried first. If a private consultant recommends surgery and you are uncertain, a second opinion is a normal request, and London makes that easier than most places because several unrelated hospitals sit within a short tube ride.

For symptoms, remember the line between urgent and routine. New chest pain lasting more than a few minutes, pain spreading to the arm or jaw, collapse, or breathlessness at rest warrant an emergency call, not a clinic appointment.