Personal Profile
Dr Sothinathan Gurunathan is a Consultant Cardiologist who specialises in all areas of general cardiology, with particular expertise in advanced cardiovascular imaging, valvular heart disease, cardio-oncology and heart failure.
Dr Gurunathan is clinical lead for cardio-oncology and one of the few specialists in the country in this field. Cardio-oncology involves looking after the cardiac needs of cancer patients working to reduce the cardiac side effects of cancer treatments. It also encompasses the long-term surveillance of individuals previously treated for cancer, in whom the risk of cardiovascular disease is higher.
He is also one of the few clinicians in the country with high volume experience in complex echocardiography, which includes transoesophageal echocardiography, stress echocardiography, contrast echocardiography and three-dimensional echocardiography. These techniques allow for a comprehensive evaluation of the heart, especially in patients with suspected coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and disease of the heart muscle.
Dr Gurunathan is the departmental clinical governance lead, helping to facilitate high standards of care throughout the department. He is also passionate about medical education and is educational and clinical supervisor to a range of trainee junior doctors. He regularly teaches medical students from St George's Medical School, and the University of Southampton and provides educational talks to cardiology and oncology colleagues, as well as local GPs.
Training and Appointment
After graduating from Bristol University, he remained in Bristol for the majority of his general medical training. He completed his specialist cardiology and sub-specialty training in major London hospitals including St George’s, St Thomas’ and Bart’s Hospital. Prior to his specialist training, he undertook a prestigious heart failure fellowship with the world-renowned Professor Cleland.Research and Publications
Dr Gurunathan undertook a PhD at Imperial College London in advanced cardiovascular imaging for coronary artery disease and heart failure. His research also investigated the role of carotid ultrasound to improve cardiovascular risk assessment over conventional risk scores used in primary care, finding it provided important additional value. He achieved several European academic awards for his research, and a large volume of high impact journal publications as well as book chapters. He continues to publish in these areas of Cardiology.Current Practice
He treats patients with a variety of symptoms, including chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and blackouts. He is also experienced in dealing with a range of cardiac disorders, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and arrhythmias, as well as assessing patients’ cardiovascular status prior to surgery.Dr Gurunathan is clinical lead for cardio-oncology and one of the few specialists in the country in this field. Cardio-oncology involves looking after the cardiac needs of cancer patients working to reduce the cardiac side effects of cancer treatments. It also encompasses the long-term surveillance of individuals previously treated for cancer, in whom the risk of cardiovascular disease is higher.
He is also one of the few clinicians in the country with high volume experience in complex echocardiography, which includes transoesophageal echocardiography, stress echocardiography, contrast echocardiography and three-dimensional echocardiography. These techniques allow for a comprehensive evaluation of the heart, especially in patients with suspected coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and disease of the heart muscle.
Dr Gurunathan is the departmental clinical governance lead, helping to facilitate high standards of care throughout the department. He is also passionate about medical education and is educational and clinical supervisor to a range of trainee junior doctors. He regularly teaches medical students from St George's Medical School, and the University of Southampton and provides educational talks to cardiology and oncology colleagues, as well as local GPs.
