Training and experience

Dr Pat Phen (Pornpat Chandr-Ruang-Phen on the GMC register) is a Consultant Cardiologist who qualified at The United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ (UMDS - now GKT School of Medical Education at King’s College London) in 1991. Since then he has trained in cardiology at several prestigious London teaching hospitals including St George’s Hospital, Hammersmith Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and The Royal Brompton Hospital.

He undertook 3 years of clinical research at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and was awarded a PhD in Cardiovascular Medicine. He was appointed Consultant Cardiologist at Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (BTUH) in 2004, as well as The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, when it opened in 2007. He was the Clinical Service Unit Lead for Secondary Care Cardiology at BTUH from 2012 to 2019 and oversaw the rapid expansion and modernization of its cardiac services in alignment with the Trust’s 5-year strategic objectives. When Basildon, Southend and Broomfield Hospitals merged into a single Mid & South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSE) in early 2020, he was appointed the Clinical Lead for Outpatient Quality Improvement for the whole of MSE, in recognition of his track record in the transformation of clinical services. In this role, Dr Phen aims to rapidly bring about the newly formed NHSX’s vision of digital transformation of care within the area.

Dr Phen has extensive experience in managing patients with all common cardiac conditions such as angina (chest pain), heart attack, heart failure, heart rhythm abnormalities (palpitations and/or blackouts) and heart valve disease. He also regularly sees patients for cardiovascular risk assessment, treatment for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and preoperative cardiac assessment. Having trained at Great Ormond Street Hospital, he is also one of the few cardiologists in Essex with experience in congenital heart conditions.

Dr Phen was part of a team of doctors that helped to set up The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre in 2007, one of the newest and most modern heart and lung centres in the UK, where he now works in close liaison with heart surgeons and other colleagues. He also actively engages with commissioners and GP leads of the local Clinical Commissioning Groups to ensure a seamless organization of care from primary to secondary and tertiary settings.

Clinical Interests

Dr Phen has a special expertise in the implantation of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices (CIEDs) that include pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) pacemakers and defibrillators. These devices are essential in the treatment of patients with life-threatening heart rhythm disorders as well as patients with heart failure. Dr Phen also has extensive experience in the use of advanced echocardiographic imaging modalities to assess such patients, as well as patients who have coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease

Research Interests

Dr Phen’s PhD thesis was based on how lifestyle factors such as diet, obesity and physical exercise can interact and influence the health and performance of the cells that line the inside of all blood vessels (the vascular endothelium). The health of these cells is vital in determining one’s risk of heart attacks, strokes and other vascular disorders.

He has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented to international conferences on the subject. He continues this interest in his clinical practice, which is termed preventive cardiology. He has participated in numerous multicenter research trials relating to CIEDs including most recently the Europe-wide EuroCRT registry and UK-wide MPP-VARR study.

Treatments

Dr Phen is available for consultations for all types of heart complaints including the treatment of high blood pressure, or for cardiovascular risk assessment. He has expertise in performing cardiac catheterization and coronary angiogram, all types of echocardiogram including exercise or Dobutamine stress echo, transoesophageal echo, 3-D echo and strain imaging. He also performs electrical cardioversions and implants cardiac pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization (CRT) pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs).

• Cardiac pacemaker implantation
• CRT and ICD implantation
• Diagnostic cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography
• ECG – 12-lead ECG; treadmill exercise ECG
• Echocardiogram – standard transthoracic, transoesophageal, exercise or Dobutamine stress echo
• Electrical cardioversion
• Ambulatory ECG and BP monitoring