Heart to Heart with a Heart Specialist

As part of #HeartMonth, one of our Heart Rhythm Cardiologists, Dr Mark Hall, reveals what life is like at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital - the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the country.

Tell us about your career as a heart specialist?

“As a child growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t know what sort of doctor I wanted to be. Then when I was a 17 year old A-level student, my father died following a sudden cardiac arrest. This was a traumatic time for my family and I, but from that moment I knew that I wanted to be a cardiologist. I wanted something good to come out of my experience, to help families in similar situations and perhaps prevent other people suffering the same fate as my dad.

“After studying medicine at Newcastle University, I spent a number of years working as a junior doctor in hospitals in the north east, trained for nine years in cardiology in Manchester, and then moved to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital as a consultant cardiologist in 2007.”

Can you explain your role at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital?

“I am one of eight cardiologists who specialise in diagnosing and managing heart rhythm problems. Although some heart rhythm problems are treated with medicines, we are able to cure many patients using an ablation procedure. Other patients receive pacemakers or defibrillators to help regulate the heart rhythm. 

“As well as dealing with common heart rhythm problems, I also look after patients with inherited heart rhythm disorders, screen families to identify other members who might be affected and provide counselling, support and follow up treatment. 

“I also provide advice and treatment for young patients with heart rhythm disorders, performing ablations and implanting devices at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.”

How many heart procedures have you carried out in your career?

“I carry out approximately 230 ablation procedures and implant up to 200 pacemakers each year. This means that I’ve probably operated on about 3,000 people since I started at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.”

What is the best most rewarding part of your job?

“It’s really exciting to be in a position where you meet a patient whose quality of life and perhaps life expectancy is being seriously affected by their heart condition, and then be able to carry out a procedure that genuinely cures them. Not many medical specialists experience this privilege. 

“One of the biggest thrills in my career has been witnessing some of the advances in medicine and technology. Heart problems that were disabling or fatal 20 years ago can now be treated successfully. 

“Working in one of the leading heart hospitals in the country, it’s also particularly rewarding to be involved in cutting edge research and perform procedures that have never been carried out anywhere in the world.”

What is the hardest part of your job?

“No matter how long you’ve been a doctor, talking to bereaved families is never easy. I find it’s even harder when there’s a genetic abnormality involved that could potentially have a serious impact on a young son or daughter as well.

“The realisation that you can’t cure or fix everybody, even though medical technology has come such a long way in recent years, is also hard to come to terms with at times.”

Do you take the job home with you?

“The simple answer is yes- it’s impossible not to. Luckily I’m married to a lovely lady who is also a doctor and so understands the pressures of the job. We are able to support each other and share our difficulties and successes at the end of a long day.

“Having interests outside the job is important in maintaining a sense of perspective. I play the French horn (very badly) and am part of a local wind orchestra in Maghull. Making music with friends, alongside my children, is a perfect way to relax and have fun.”

What is a typical day for you?

“Long! From 8am I’ll be meeting and talking to the patients that I will be operating on that day, making sure that they understand exactly what will be happening and answering any questions or concerns that they have.

“My procedures usually last between 2 and 4 hours and so I operate on three or four patients each day. For some of the more complex procedures, I’ll also spend time discussing the case with other consultants in the team to ensure that the treatment we provide is the best that it can be.

“After finishing the operations, visiting the patients and completing the necessary paperwork, I usually leave hospital by 7.30pm.”

What are your messages to people about heart health?

“Use it, don’t abuse and lose it! The reality is that what you do to your body and your heart in your twenties, thirties and forties, will show itself in your fifties, sixties and seventies.

“So if you smoke, drink, don’t exercise and eat an unhealthy diet, you’re at a much increased risk of getting heart disease. If you look after your heart by not smoking, eating a balanced diet and taking regular exercise, you will have a greater chance of living a longer and healthier life.

“Learn how to check your pulse. It should be strong and regular. If it’s irregular you should talk to your GP as that may be the first sign of a heart rhythm problem.

“It’s also important that if anyone in your family, under the age of 50 years, died unexpectedly or if you have experienced unexplained blackouts, particularly during exercise, then you should go to see your GP and ask to be referred to a cardiologist. In nine out of 10 situations, there won’t be anything to worry about, but for that one person it could be a life-saving visit.”

What does the future hold for our hearts?

“We are likely to see fewer heart attacks in future, as fewer people smoke nowadays. Heart attacks when they do happen are less likely to be fatal as we are very successful in treating them if we get to them early enough.

“Generally speaking, people are living longer so we are likely to see a big increase in heart problems associated with old age, such as atrial fibrillation (an irregular heart rhythm which increases the risk of stroke) and heart failure.

“Fortunately medical research is also moving forward fast and it’s likely by the time I retire that we’ll have new treatments which can deal with many of these issues.”

What kind of person is suited to being a heart specialist?

“Heart specialists are pretty competitive and driven people as it is a popular area of medicine in which to train. We don’t mind working hard as the work is usually very rewarding.

“The most successful cardiologists tend to have a sense of perspective about their jobs and do their best to achieve some sort of work-life balance, even though that’s a tall order in the modern NHS. The days of the stuffy hospital specialist are long gone and most of us do our best to be approachable. A few of us might even pass for normal!”